Prime minister instructs cabinet to complete revision of natural deposits in the country

Alikhan Smailov has ordered the cabinet to complete the revision of natural deposits in the country / Photo: Shutterstock

Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov has ordered the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development to complete the revision of natural deposits in Kazakhstan by the end of this year.

«The ministries of digital development, industries and energy should complete the comprehensive analysis of all historical data and ensure that as much of this information is uploaded on the online platform as possible. The ministries of industry and energy should complete the revision of all deposits by the end of this year with sanctions against unfair subsoil users,» he said during the cabinet’s meeting.

Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar has been appointed as supervisor of this work.

According to Smailov, the government has been conducting the revision of the country’s natural deposits. Those subsoil users who haven’t met the relevant requirements should drop their licenses. As the prime minister noted, even though more than $4.3 billion was invested into exploration over the past 12 years, Kazakhstan is still not doing well in terms of exploring new fields.

The prime minister ordered the Ministry of Energy in conjunction with the holding of Samruk Kazyna to analyze historical data on natural gas deposits. The two agencies have to complete this work within two months with the help of up-to-date tools. On the other hand, the Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Science and Higher Education and Ministry of Energy should inspect the scientific base and infrastructure to assess their condition and prepare a plan for how to improve them. This work should be done by the end of this year.

In addition, the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructural Development has to develop a road map aimed at increasing the resource base and production of high-tech products based on rare metals. According to Smailov, the deposit of chrome, aluminum, copper and lead in Kazakhstan is in decline.

In turn, Minister of Energy Almasadam Satkaliyev said that as of August 1, 2023, there were 292 contracts for hydrocarbons, nine for product sharing, 26 for exploration, 147 for exploration and production and 110 for extraction in Kazakhstan. Over the period from January to June 2023, the country invested $403 million into geological exploration, a significant increase compared to $293 million invested in 2022 as a whole.

«Since 2022, the ministry has broken 29 contracts, while for nine contracts it paid out a debt of $4 million. The government is reoffering the fields that it has taken under control on an auction in order to attract more investments into geological exploration and rapidly restart operation of those fields that were neglected by their previous owners for so long,» the minister said.

For instance, on July 12, 2023, eleven land parcels were sold at an online auction (seven for exploration and extraction and four for extraction) with payment of a subscription bonus of $7.3 million. The total amount of committed investments into exploration is expected to be $35 million. The government is going to conduct two more online auctions. The nearest with eleven fields (nine for exploration and extraction and two for extraction) is scheduled for October 20. Its subscription bonus is going to be $984,571 with committed investments at $42.5 million.