Kazakhstan to Provide Subsurface Rights through Online Auctions

According to the Ministry of Energy press release, oil rights will be provided via an online auction starting from September 1. 

The new rules are stipulated by a new version of Code «On Subsurface and Subsurface Use» which envisages online auctions for licenses.

«While all previous auctions were held in the paper format, which was not perfect, from September 1 of this year, those who are interested in oil rights will be able to participate in auctions online,» the agency’s press release said.

New online auctions are expected to be transparent and improve the competitive environment.

Earlier in June 2018, a new Code «On Subsurface and Subsurface Use» came into force in Kazakhstan. To attract investors for geological exploration, the code operates on the«first come, first served» principle. This means that any company receives a priority right to exploit the field it discovered. In the period before this rule was adopted, the situation with geological exploration in Kazakhstan was terrible. For example, no new fields have been discovered in the mining sector over the past 25 years.

Since the introduction of the new Code into force, more than 600 licenses have been issued. All these license holders received priority rights for subsurface. In February, Magzum Mirzagalieyev, Minister of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources of Kazakhstan announced the expectation of ten new deposits to be discovered this year, including seven in the mining sector.