The Chevron-led Tengizchevroil (TCO) joint venture, which is developing the major Tengiz field, joined the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative on 16 April. The main purpose of the initiative is to make extractive companies’ financial reporting transparent.
TCO has become 55th oil company operating in
Kazakhstan to join the initiative. The company has been resisting this move for a long time, although the Kazakh government has been pressing the company to force it to publicise contract provisions.
Tengizchevroil will pay up to $5.5bn to
Kazakhstan in 2008, the company’s chief executive, Todd Levy, told a news conference on the 15th anniversary of the company, marked in Astana on 17 April. TCO’s annual spending currently stands at $5bn. This sum includes salaries TCO pays its employees, purchasing of goods and services from Kazakh producers and suppliers, dividends to its Kazakh partner (KMG) and taxes and royalty to the budget.
The company paid $23bn in direct financial payments to
Kazakhstan since 1993.
TCO was also planning to halve emissions of hazardous substances into the environment, Mr Levy said. At the same time, the company’s emissions were
3.82 kg per tonne of oil produced in the first quarter of 2008 which is 8% more than in the same period of 2007. Gas flaring declined by 11% in the first quarter of 2008.
TCO earlier said that it expected its production to rise to 18.7m tonnes of oil in 2008 from 13.9m tonnes in 2007. Overall, an increase in the company’s production targets, the increase of its payments to the country’s budget, pledges to cut emissions and the move to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative will improve its relations with the government. Nevertheless, the government will continue to watch TCO’s environmental protection activities, especially its storage of sulphur in the open air.
