Kazakhstan’s oilfield services companies to cut 80,000-90,000 jobs – New Europe

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Kulpash Konyrova By Kulpash Konyrova

NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan – Kazakhstan oil service companies will be forced to cut about 80,000 – 90,000 jobs in the near future due to the fall in world oil prices and the coronavirus pandemic, Kazakhstan’s Association of Oil Services Companies Chairman Rashid Zhaksylykov told New Europe.

“Today, about 2,000 oilfield services companies work in Kazakhstan. About 170,000 to 180,000 people work in these companies. Of this amount, about half may lose their jobs in the near future, that is, about 80,000 – 90,000 people,”  Zhaksylykov said.

[President of Kazakhstan HE Nursultan Nazarbayev filmed by Capitol Intelligence/Greater Central Asia (GCA) using CI Glass being honored by US Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue following Oval meeting with President Donald J. Trump at the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington, DC. January 16, 2018]

“Our customers, for example, Kazakh-American oil company, TengizChevroil, has already warned our oil service companies that they changed their plans this year. For example, the company decided to postpone the overhaul of the Tengiz field next year. The cost of overhaul is 300 million dollars. And this means that we, the domestic oilfield services companies, are losing this amount of work and the money that they were waiting for. We received advice that we switch to austerity,” Zhaksylykov explained.

According to him, today the management of TengizChevroil is also discussing the postponement of the Future Expansion Project at the Tengiz field, where about 48,000 people of oilfield services companies are involved.

“It is possible that the timing of the expansion project on Karachaganak will be postponed. The implementation of such offshore projects as Kalamkas and Khazar, as well as the next stage of development of Kashagan project could be postponed. And this means that our Union oil service companies have no other choice to reduce the number of employees,” Zhaksylykov said.

Kazakhstan produced 90.4 million tonnes of oil in 2019 but has cut the 2020 production forecast to 86 million tonnes.