OREANDA-NEWS. Karachaganak Petroleum Operating B.V. (KPO) has announced the operation results for the year of 2014.

In 2014, KPO reached a record level of 142.5 million barrels of oil equivalent in production of stabilised and unstabilised liquid hydrocarbons, gas and fuel gas. In addition, 8,817.8 million cubic meters of sour dry gas were injected into the reservoir, a volume equivalent to approximately 48.3% of the total gas produced.

KPO General Director, Damiano RATTI, said: "As of today, KPO's partners have invested USD 19.1 billion into the development of Karachaganak whilst direct payments into the RoK budget reached USD 12.6 billion".

"In developing the Karachaganak project, KPO has utilised leading production and hydrocarbon processing technology to enhance hydrocarbon recovery and ensuring maximum economic return for the Republic of Kazakhstan and the project partners", added Damiano RATTI.

Karachaganak is one of the largest and most complex fields to operate in Kazakhstan. Currently, there are 95 production and 17 re-injection wells in operation at the Karachaganak field, out of a total of 395 wells.

KPO actively promotes a culture where the ownership of safety is shared across the company and its contractors. As a result, the Total Recordable Injuries Frequency at KPO in 2014 was 0.27 per million man hours worked, marking a significant improvement versus the previous year (0.46) and far lower than the year target (0.38).

"KPO aims to continuously improve its performance through compliance with HSE standards, managing workplace risks and careful planning and monitoring of our operations", added Damiano RATTI.

"KPO is committed to sustainable development and the highest standards for environment protection in all aspects of its activity. KPO fully supports initiative of the Republic of Kazakhstan regarding transition to "a green economy".

"Since 1998, KPO's investments into environmental activities have exceeded USD 297.2 million. The gas utilisation rate at Karachaganak in 2014 totalled 99.81%, which is a world-class achievement", said Damiano RATTI.

Emissions from KPO industrial facilities are monitored by an automatic data collection and environmental monitoring system installed at the field as well as at the borders of the sanitary protection zone. In addition, KPO monitors the air quality in areas adjacent to the Karachaganak field.

As the largest employer in the region, KPO is fulfilling its obligations for the protection of employees' health and for the creation of long-term jobs with competitive salaries. KPO also puts into place programmes that are focused on promoting the professional development of local employees.

"As a result of KPO's nationalisation programme local employees today fill 100% of the skilled and clerical positions, and 95% of professional and supervisory roles. At the managerial level, 70% of positions are filled by local employees", said Damiano RATTI.

During 2014, about four thousand Kazakhstani specialists from KPO were enrolled in industrial safety, technical competence, management development programmes as well as personal and language skills training courses.

In the last year KPO has applied more than USD 11 million to the training and development of Kazakhstani professionals using international experience, internal resources, and through cooperation with well-known universities.

Also, KPO is actively promoting the development of suppliers of local goods and services, and implementing a number of projects to support local production.

KPO is one of the first companies in Kazakhstan to successfully introduce a local content programme. The implementation of the Local Content Development Programme has allowed involving more than three thousand Kazakhstani companies into the development of Karachaganak. These companies have received orders from KPO for over USD 4 billion.

"In 2014, the proportion of local content in KPO contracts for the supply of goods and services reached 47.39%, or USD 472.2 million in monetary terms", Damiano RATTI said.

As Damiano RATTI has noted, "Today, Karachaganak plays a significant role in the social, economic and cultural development of the West Kazakhstan Oblast".

"KPO's social projects are a good example of our corporate responsibility and successful cooperation with local authorities ensuring the efficient use of Karachaganak's potential", Damiano RATTI said.

"Every year KPO implements a big number of large social infrastructure development projects in WKO. The list of priority projects is defined by the West Kazakhstan Oblast administration. The KPO social development programme is focused on the construction of healthcare, education, culture and sports facilities. All projects are carried out by Kazakh contractors only. To date, KPO has allocated USD 242 million to social infrastructure projects in WKO", he added.