KMG and CNOOC Discuss Prospects for Bilateral Cooperation

During a working visit to Beijing (China), KazMunayGas's Head Askhat Khassenov and Chairman of the Board of Directors of China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) Chuanjiang Zhang discussed ongoing joint projects and prospects for further cooperation.

Special emphasis was placed on the long‑term strategic partnership between KMG's subsidiaries and CNOOC. In particular, KMG Drilling & Services and China Oilfield Services Limited (COSL) are strengthening their cooperation in drilling and service operations for international projects. The companies will also develop key areas, such as drilling, well services, technology transfer, local content development, and human resource capacity building through the implementation of a special educational program.

Meanwhile, KMG Engineering and COSL have begun joint work to implement new technologies in well development, drilling, and workover.

During the meeting, the parties also reviewed the current status of the Zhylyoi joint exploration project, located in the transit zone of the northeastern Caspian Sea. Currently, the project is in the active implementation phase, with work underway to reprocess and reinterpret 400 lin. km of historical 2D seismic data. Field 3D seismic exploration works covering an area of ​​400 km² are scheduled to begin by the end of 2026.

As previously reported, the project is being implemented on a parity basis (50/50), with financing for the exploration period provided by a Chinese company.

This project is the first instance of a major Chinese company CNOOC entering Kazakhstan with investment specifically in exploration.

During the negotiations, the possibilities of cooperation on other promising exploration projects in our country were also discussed.

Following the meeting, the parties confirmed their interest in expanding mutually beneficial cooperation in all key areas.