Welcome Letters 2012
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
On behalf of the Ministry of Oil and Gas of the Republic of Kazakhstan, I am happy to welcome the exhibitors and guests of the 11th North Caspian Regional Exhibition ‘Atyrau Oil & Gas’ and the 6th Atyrau Regional Oil & Gas Technology Conference ‘OilTech Atyrau 2012’.
Kazakhstan today is one of the leading countries in the Eurasian region. The role of the successfully developing oil and gas industry in the process of strengthening the country’s international and regional positions is dominating.
It is hard to overestimate the significance of the West Kazakhstan region and the oil capital of Kazakhstan, Atyrau, in the country’s political and economic life, the continuously growing interest in the oil and gas events held here being yet another testimony thereto.
The annual exhibition and conference, which have for more than 10 year been a platform to demonstrate innovative achievements in the oil and gas sphere and a traditional meeting place for industry professionals, once again invite domestic and foreign oil and gas sector representatives to participate.
Issues raised in the course of the annual technology forum are broadly reflective of the current development results and potentialities of the oil and gas industry.
These events are designed to clearly demonstrate the latest achievements in the industry, promote intensive exchange of experiences in deploying advanced, innovative technologies, open up new horizons for cooperation, and lure attention of foreign and domestic companies towards development prospects of the oil and gas industry in the region, which gives a new impetus to its further development.
I sincerely wish the organisers, exhibitors and guests fruitful work and successful implementation of earmarked objectives!
S.M. Mynbayev
Minister of Oil and Gas of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
On behalf of the Atyrau Regional Administration, I would like to welcome the exhibitors of the annual event held by ITECA and all those interested in further strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation and investing in the Atyrau region’s dynamically developing economy.
Having grown into a major industrial centre of the Caspian region, Atyrau is constantly increasing production, introducing the latest technologies, building oil and gas refining facilities, and attracting large investors.
Atyrau cooperates in various sectors with more than 52 countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Russia, France, and many others.
There are 421 joint venture and foreign companies registered in the region, including 292 joint ventures and 129 foreign-shared enterprises.
Along with the encouraging trends of development in the oil and gas sector, the Atyrau Region possesses valuable deposits of various minerals and building materials. The region has a strong raw material base to manufacture boric products, potassium sulphate, magnesium sulphate, edible salt, and other chemical compounds.
The Atyrau Region’s unique natural environment and rich historical and cultural heritage are conducive to developing medical, health, sports, cultural, educational, extreme and other kinds of tourism and recreation. The local authorities will support investment projects in this area in every possible way.
I would like to wish all the exhibitors, visitors and organisers every success in their work.
B. Ryskaliyev
Mayor, Atyrau Region
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
On behalf of the Trade Representation of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Kazakhstan, I would like to welcome you to and congratulate you on the opening of Atyrau Oil and Gas 2012, the 11th North Caspian Regional Exhibition.
Atyrau Oil and Gas will once again bring together hundreds of exhibiting companies from various countries, representatives of science, production and management from all areas of the petroleum industry, and figures from government bodies. Kazakhstan is a strategic partner of Russia in the oil and gas sector, and the presence of Russian companies at the exhibition is an embodiment of the close historical ties between the two countries. Exhibiting at the event offers Russian and Kazakh companies the chance to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation, exchange previous experience, forge new business contacts and further enhance and develop partnerships. In turn, the conference format enables participants to highlight and discuss relevant long-term and current issues and problems in the industry, and acts as a platform for exchanging information that will help place the future into perspective.
I would like to wish all the exhibitors and visitors every success in their work.
A. Yakovlev
Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Kazakhstan
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Please let me cordially welcome you at the opening ceremony of the 11th North Caspian Regional Atyrau Oil, Gas & Infrastructure Exhibition. Its steady expansion is the indication of the development of the oil and gas industry in the region. I am glad that such exhibition is possible in the Western Kazakhstan, the crossroad for truly global energy-related projects: Kashagan, Tengiz, Caspian Pipeline Consortium, Atyrau - Samara link, to name a few. I believe these projects play a vital role in ensuring energy security of Europe. Having a 20 years of mutually beneficial cooperation between our countries, the Netherlands looks forward to intensification of our bilateral relations, including cooperation in the energy sector. We have already almost 40 Dutch companies mainly in the hydrocarbon sector established in the Atyrau Oblast.
This is a special occasion as I have the privilege to receive in Kazakhstan my colleagues: Mrs Saskia de Lang, Special Representative for Energy and Energy Security of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands and Mr Jan-Meinte Postma, Energy Envoy of the Minister of Economic Affairs of the Netherlands. The visit of the highest energy-related officials from my country to Kazakhstan is another indication of the Netherlands’ commitment to the enhancement of economic and political cooperation with Kazakhstan and the special attention for the energy sector. This morning we have opened the 6th Atyrau Regional Petroleum Technology Conference OilTech Atyrau. Honored speakers praised the potential of this region in terms of hydrocarbon production and refinery. But the topic I very carefully listened to is local content. I would like to join the chorus of specialists to emphasize the importance of the domestic content and the role of the Government in this policy. It adds to diversification of economy and to employment. It means cheaper products for projects, as a result lower inflation. It impacts social stability in the country. That is why I believe that well weighted and balanced Government policy on local content development is of paramount importance for the future of Kazakhstan. Capacity building is however a prerequisite for complying with this requirement.
My experience from all over the world tells that the Government should only gradually introduce this rule, otherwise the country may end up with the lack of initiatives for national companies and local businesses to improve its quality. The companies may face the shortage of motivation to move to international markets. It might impact competitiveness of the economy. This is why it is very important to develop local capacity.
Dutch technology is known worldwide as being environment friendly and efficient; it provides preciseness in operations and the maximum productivity. Dutch are known for its openness. We are ready to share with what we know. I hope that more Dutch companies are present at this exhibition next year. I will work for that.
I would like to thank Iteca for the organization of this Exhibition. I would like to wish the participants and the guests of the exhibition to find here mutually beneficial business contacts and strategic partnerships.
Peter van Leeuwen
Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the Republic of Kazakhstan
