Last Friday, the PetroMaintenance 2024 Forum on oil and gas industry maintenance took place in Atyrau, where Tengizchevroil (TCO) showcased its commitment to local content development in maintenance and shared its extensive experience in maintenance operations.

Stephen Conner, TCO’s General Manager of Operations, highlighted the company’s significant investments in the development of Kazakhstani employees. Since 2007, TCO has successfully transitioned over 460 national employees into key leadership and technical positions, replacing foreign colleagues.

Stephen Conner emphasized that over the past 31 years, TCO has procured goods and services worth $48.4 billion from Kazakhstani suppliers. In 2023 alone, 70% of TCO’s spend was from local companies, a substantial increase from the 11% recorded in 1993.

“We recognize that small, medium, and large private businesses are the backbone of the market economy. We have proactively implemented measures to support these businesses, transfer technology, and maximize the use of local potential,” Conner stated.

He added that TCO has implemented a system for promoting the localization of production, which includes initial planning of Kazakhstani content in future procurements, commitments from new suppliers to localize production, employee training, and continuous monitoring of domestic goods purchases.

Stephen Conner also underscored TCO’s substantial contributions to Kazakhstan’s economy. From 1993 to the first half of 2024, the company made direct financial payments to the Republic of Kazakhstan totaling over $196 billion. Additionally, TCO has been recognized as the best taxpayer in the country by the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan for three consecutive years.

Jerrod Hunt, TCO’s Maintenance Manager, also addressed the forum, stressing the importance of nationalizing personnel and collaborating with local contractors. He noted that currently, more than 95% of the maintenance department’s employees are Kazakhstani.

“On every single occasion that we promoted national employees, we have seen an improvement. They are talented, and we are very proud of that in our own leadership,” Jerrod Hunt said.

The forum provided a platform for TCO to reaffirm its commitment to local content development and share its successful strategies with industry peers, reinforcing its role as a key player in Kazakhstan’s oil and gas sector.