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Kazakhstan news roundup
Friday 29th May 2015
Kazakhstan is one of the world's top 15 countries when it comes to volume of available oil, boasting three per cent of all reserves on the planet. Almost two-thirds of the Central Asian nation is occupied by oil and gas areas, with a total of 172 oil fields, of which around half are already under development.
Recent weeks have seen a number of important developments affecting the country's oil and gas industry. Here, we round up the most significant events of the past month.
Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan agree Caspian maritime border
A maritime border deal for the oil-rich Caspian Sea has been reached between Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, despite ongoing disputes about its status as a sea or a lake.
The Turkmen parliament has now ratified an agreement with Kazakhstan that dated back to last November, with media reports from both countries indicating that it backs the sovereign rights of each nation in their respective sections of the Caspian.
It comes as the five countries that border the Caspian - also including Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia - continue to discuss its status. If it is deemed to be a lake, national sectors would be drawn up stretching about 16 km from the shore of each country, leaving the remainder as common property in which development work could only be conducted with mutual consent.
Iran is especially keen on having the Caspian classified as a lake. If the body of water is considered a sea, Iran's section would only comprise 13 per cent of the Caspian along the southern shore - the least valuable area based on known reserves.
Tethys and PetroChina plan sale of Kazakh oil and gas to China
Tethys Kazakhstan and PetroChina have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore the potential of long-term cooperation on the delivery of natural gas and crude oil.
In particular, the partners will be exploring the proposed sale of hydrocarbons to China, as well as delivery for Kazakhstan's internal market.
Tethys already has the option of selling gas to China, gaining the right to export upon converting the Akkulka exploration contract to a production contract.
Kazakhstan news roundup (Flickr/jason cales)
CGG and Air Control announce partnership for airborne geophysics in Kazakhstan
Geoscience company CGG has struck a deal to provide Air Control with airborne geophysical survey services in Kazakhstan.
CGG's airborne geophysical technologies allow for subsurface exploration, and Air Control will now be able to offer these services to its oil and gas mining clients in the Central Asian country.
Flight inspection services are carried out from all Kazakh airports, using laser scanner technology to provide customers with aerial imagery and terrain elevation data.
Benoit Ribadeau Dumas, senior executive and vice president of acquisition at CGG, said its solutions are a timely and cost-effective means to reduce the risk of exploration.
"Many of o