Kazakhstani citizen to lead development at Tengiz

The Oil and Gas Council of Kazakhstan has announced its latest nomination, appointing Nurlan Muratov as deputy managing director of ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Inc. and Tengiz asset manager.

«Nurlan is the first Kazakhstani citizen to hold this position in Tengiz asset management within ExxonMobil,» the statement read.

In 1997, Muratov graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied geology. He also earned a master’s degree in energy and mineral resources from the same university.

From 2002 to 2012, Muratov worked at ExxonMobil as a senior geologist, technical team lead and geoscience adviser in the U.S. and the U.K. From 2014 to 2019, he served as head of geoscience at North Caspian Operating Company N.V., the operator of the Kashagan field.

From 2019 to 2021, he was director of the Continuous Improvement Office at KazMunayGas (on loan from ExxonMobil). From 2021 to 2025, he served as CPC asset manager at ExxonMobil.

ExxonMobil is the largest oil and gas company in the U.S., holding a 25% stake in Tengizchevroil, the operator of the Tengiz field. Other stakeholders include Chevron (50%), KazMunayGas (20%) and Russia’s Lukoil (5%).