FSUOGM: Chevron to help hunt for gas in Kazakhstan

US oil major Chevron has signed a cooperation agreement with Kazakhstan’s state-owned gas company QazaqGaz on reprocessing seismic data at a site in the Aktobe region in the hope of advancing gas development.

In a statement on July 1, QazaqGaz said negotiations and technical preparations for the project at the Zhalibek site have continued over the past year. Zhalibek is situated near the Zhanazhol and Urikhtau fields, operated by China’s CNPC and Kazakhstan’s state oil company KazMunayGaz respectively.

Natural gas development has traditionally been overlooked in Kazakhstan in favour of more lucrative oil projects. While oil can be delivered to international markets, gas is either used to boost oil recovery or sold domestically at regulated low prices. However, Astana is eager to boost gas development to provide more settlements with the fuel in order to expand energy access and reduce reliance on coal and other dirtier fuels.

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