OREANDA-NEWS. November 22, 2010. “All roads lead to KIOGE” - a comment made by one of the exhibitors at KIOGE 2010, the 18th Kazakhstan International Oil & Gas Exhibition and Conference, which was held in Almaty - could well claim to be its main motto. For almost two decades, KIOGE has been a leading industry event for Kazakhstan’s fuel and energy sector.

The presence of 492 exhibiting companies and sub-exhibitors from 30 countries at the exhibition and 782 delegates (including 58 speakers) from 25 countries at the conference* is proof that a dialogue between professionals is in progress, allowing industry issues to be addressed more effectively. Germany, Italy, Canada, China, Russia and France participated with national stands. Encouragingly, Kazakhstani companies accounted for one third of all exhibitors. This is an indirect, but eloquent, result of the development of not only the oil and gas business, but many service areas in the country in recent times.

KIOGE 2010 was held with the official support of the Ministry of Oil and Gas of the Republic of Kazakhstan, KazMunayGas National Company JSC, KazEnergy Association, Almaty City Administration and diplomatic missions of the participating countries. The event was organised by the Kazakhstani exhibition company Iteca, part of ITE Group (UK), with partners from Russia, Germany, Turkey, China and UAE.

This year, 32 companies sponsored the KIOGE exhibition and conference. The Gold Sponsors were Baker Hughes, Karachaganak Petroleum Operating B.V (KPO), and KazMunaiGas Exploration Production JSC. Media support for the exhibition and conference was provided by 122 industry publications and internet resources of various countries.

The results of the exhibition, based on exhibitor surveys, are as follows: 15% of exhibitors and 23% of visitors signed contracts during the exhibition; and 88.5% of exhibitors noted in the surveys that they established useful and promising contacts at the exhibition. Over the four days, the exhibition was visited by 7,184 people (of whom, 7041, or 98%, were professionals from the oil and gas industry and related industries). The statistics were obtained by electronic registration and a survey of the exhibitors and visitors.

KIOGE 2010 was opened by Sauat Mynbayev, Minister of Oil and Gas of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Lyazzat Kiinov, Deputy Minister of Oil and Gas of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Kairgeldy Kabyldin, Chairman of the Board of KazMunayGas National Company JSC; and Sir Andrew Wood, Chairman of the KIOGE Exhibition and Conference.

Opening the exhibition, Sauat Mynbayev said: “The issues raised during the annual KIOGE forum widely cover the current results of development and potential of Kazakhstan’s oil and gas industry, and promote greater experience sharing relating to the introduction of advanced technologies between international and local companies.”

KIOGE 2010 will be remembered not only for the high number and quality of the participants of the exhibition and conference, but also for the public statements and events.

On Kazakhstan’s potential, which is attracting the interest of both investors and consumers from all over the world, Lyazzat Kiinov said in paper he gave: “The Republic of Kazakhstan possesses proven extractable oil reserves of 4.8 billion tons, which amounts to 3.2% of the world’s total oil reserves, and is among the top ten countries for hydrocarbon reserves. Nevertheless, the volume of oil production is growing. This is mainly through large oil fields. So, in 2009, the production of oil and gas condensate in the republic amounted to 76.5 million tons, and this year we expect to produce 80 million tons. In the future, oil production in Kazakhstan is forecast to be about 100 million tons in 2015.”

The KIOGE conference has become a platform at which the government’s position on major issues of industry development is announced: the development of the Kashagan field, the attraction of global technological leaders, Astana’s new policy on taxation and local content - all this, for obvious reasons, provoked the interest of representatives of the commodity business.

The subject of routes and pipelines continues to remain relevant at KIOGE. The results of completed work were presented: the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, Kenkiyak - Atyrau, Atasu - Alashankou, and Kenkiyak - Kumkol pipelines have built and put into operation; the capacity of the Atyrau – Samara pipeline and port of Aktau has been expanded; and long-term intergovernmental agreements on the transportation and transit of hydrocarbons have been signed with neighboring countries. As pointed out by representatives of KazMunayGas, the company is currently involved in projects such as the phased expansion of the CPC pipeline, and increasing the capacity of the Kazakhstan – China pipeline. In addition, at the development stage are projects to create new facilities, including the Kazakhstan Caspian Transportation System, which is designed to export the oil that will be produced under Phase 2 of the project to develop the Kashagan oilfield on the Caspian shelf.

The exhibition also included the 5th Oil and Gas Job Fair, which featured major oil and gas companies and recruitment firms: Karachaganak Petroleum Operating BV (KPO), Caspian Meruerti Operating Company BV, CAMERON, FEAM SRL, Rosetti Group, Thermtech AS, and BRUNEL International NV. HR managers and recruitment consultants searched for people wanting to work for regional and international oil and gas companies. Most applicants were young professionals, graduates from specialised higher education institutions and experienced oil and gas industry professionals. The Oil and Gas Job Fair at KIOGE 2010 was sponsored by CAMERON.

Every year, KIOGE brings together hundreds of exhibitors from all over the world, and thousands of scientists, technologists and managers from the oil, oil refining, petrochemical, gas and oil transportation industries; environmentalists; and representatives of humanitarian and social organisations, and government agencies.

KIOGE is not the only oil and gas event in the region organised by ITE and Iteca. The following exhibitions are held in the regions: Atyrau Oil, Gas & Infrastructure, and Mangystau Oil, Gas & Infrastructure. These exhibitions are organised at the local level, but receive support from the extensive network of national and international offices.

It only remains to add that in 2011, ITE and Iteca will organise the following oil and gas projects in Kazakhstan:

5- 7 April 2011, Atyrau Oil, Gas & Infrastructure 2011

5- 8 October 2011, Almaty – KIOGE 2011;

1- 3 November 2011, Aktau – Mangystau Oil, Gas & Infrastructure 2011.