OREANDA-NEWS. January 20, 2016. KazMunaiGas Exploration Production JSC (Astana), whose shares are officially listed on Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE), has provided KASE with the following press-release:

KazMunaiGas Exploration & Production ("KMG EP" or the "Company") announces that Ozenmunaigas's ("OMG") request to temporarily have Mineral Extraction Tax (MET) relief for 2015, approved for the Uzen and Karamandybas fields in Mangystau Province, has not been approved by the Kazakh Government. In a low oil price environment, the Kazakh Government has the ability to make relief to temporarily reduce the MET on hydrocarbon fields that produce low or no profits.

Had the Company been awarded such a relief, a MET rate of 0.65 percent would have applied retrospectively throughout 2015 (as opposed to the current 13-percent MET rate).