With the formation of Tengizchevroil in 1993, Chevron became the first major Western oil firm to work in Kazakhstan.
In 1997, Texaco, which later merged with Chevron, acquired a 20 percent stake in the Karachaganak Field, Kazakhstan's second-largest producing petroleum reserve.
Chevron—in conjunction with 10 companies and government partners—opened the Caspian Pipeline Consortium pipeline in 2001. Another pipeline linking the Karachaganak Field to the Caspian system at Atyrau began operations in 2003.
In 2003, Chevron opened a $24 million polyethylene pipe plant in Atyrau, the first such facility in Kazakhstan.
In 2008, Tengizchevroil completed the Sour Gas Injection and Second Generation Plant expansion, nearly doubling daily production of oil and natural gas.
Chevron launched production of metal-plastic bonded pipes in 2011.
Health, Environment and Safety
Protecting people and the environment is one of Chevron's core values.
TCO celebrated an important safety milestone in January 2010, achieving more than 24 million work-hours without an employee day-away-from-work injury.
From the earliest days of operation, the staff of the Atyrau Polyethylene Pipe Plant has worked without a day-away-from-work injury. Plant employees continue to achieve excellent results, thanks to continuous safety training and weekly safety audits. The plant has achieved 900,000 work-hours, or more than seven years, of incident-free operation.
Chevron has invested heavily in protecting the environment. Since 2000, TCO has spent more than $2.2 billion on measures that have reduced natural gas flaring by 98 percent.
Economy
Chevron contributes to Kazakhstan's economy through employee salaries, purchases of goods and services from local suppliers, tariffs and fees paid to state-owned companies, and taxes and royalties paid to the government.
From 2005 to 2010, TCO spent $9.6 billion on Kazakhstani goods and services—$1.35 billion in 2010 alone.
The implementation of the local vendor development program has enabled our partners at Karachaganak to work with a large number of national companies. Since 1997, they have procured goods and services worth more than $4 billion from Kazakhstani companies.
Since 1993, the proportion of employees at TCO who are Kazakhstan citizens has grown from 50 percent to 85 percent. A steadily growing number of nationals are assuming management positions. Kazakhstanis now make up 76 percent of managerial and supervisory positions.
All managers and staff at Chevron's Polyethylene Pipe Plant are Kazakhstani. Our plant has created about 130 local jobs, including 65 employee positions.
Since 2008 and through 2010, Chevron and our partners at Karachaganak spent almost $39 million on local staff development.
Chevron applies the most up-to-date equipment, technology, methods and expertise to its oil and gas business in Kazakhstan. The company deploys all of its technologies with the goal of increasing reserves and production, accelerating development, and reducing costs. Chevron's national workers are exposed to the latest developments in oil field operations.
In 2008, Tengizchevroil was given the Silver Paryz Award for a community engagement project in Kulsary. TCO helped build a vocational school to give students the training needed to supply the nation's oil industry with its future leaders.
Updated: March 2011
Cautionary Statement