Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

Kazakhstan's KazMunaiGas National Oil and Gas Company will spend $5 billion on the geological exploration in the country in the next three years, Kazakh Energy Minister Vladimir Shkolnik said at a parliamentary meeting on October 21.

"This measure will ensure the growth of the company's proved reserves of oil and gas condensate from 823 million metric tons to 1.4 billion metric tons in 2022," he added.

He also noted the expansion of the hydrocarbon resource base, increase of the efficiency of the existing fields and preparation of the domestic industry for new conditions are among the main priorities of Kazakhstan's government.

In May 2014, the Kazakh government approved a geological exploration program for 2015-2019. Based on the program, the country would allocate 119 billion tenge (around $654 million) from the state budget to conduct geological survey. This program is believed to increase gold, copper and complex ores forecast resources.

Kazakhstan also plans to attract large national companies and subsoil users to invest in geological exploration, as well as to establish a Geological Research Center which will lead to a substantial reduction in financial expenditure and time for processing geological materials by conducting analyses in the country.