Didn't pass the probationary period

Kazmunaigas has changed its president for the second time in three months

In the struggle for operational control over the main oil and gas state company in Kazakhstan, an unexpected reshuffle occurred again. Serik Burkitbaev, who was appointed president of Kazmunaigas less than three months ago and did not have much experience in the field of hydrocarbons, was dismissed without explanation. And experienced oilman Kairgeldy Kabyldin was appointed to the vacant seat. He was introduced to the team yesterday by the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Karim Massimov. The new leader has publicly been given three tasks: to complete negotiations with an international consortium on the development of the Kashagan field in two months, to bring to a victorious end the deal to buy out a controlling stake in Mangistaumunaigaz from offshore owners and to prepare the company for tax innovations in the field of oil exports, ensuring the stability of the domestic petroleum products market.

“We are a country with a market economy, and on market principles we must win our market share in order to resolve issues with the provision of fuel and lubricants throughout the country. This should allow us not only to ensure the availability of fuel and lubricants, but also the availability of pricing policy,” the company’s press service quotes Masimov as saying. As you know, at the beginning of the year the government of Kazakhstan decided to introduce an oil export duty on September 1. Its main payer will be Kazmunaigas, since most foreign investors operate in the country on the basis of production sharing agreements, which require fixed tax and customs regimes.

The state concern has been working to achieve its declared goals lately and, judging by official information, during the short period of Mr. Burkitbaev’s reign, the negotiation process went on as usual. At the end of July, Mr. Masimov himself told the EU Special Representative for Central Asia, Pierre Morel, that a compromise on all issues related to the development of Kashagan had been found, and legal work on paperwork was underway. And just ten days ago, Serik Burkitbaev promised to close the Mangistaumunaigaz deal “in the next two weeks.” True, there were indirect signs that adaptation to the post of president of Kazmunaigas did not go smoothly at all. He was never able to begin forming his own team, which significantly slowed down the work of Kazmunaigas. He was simply not allowed to appoint a single person to the management of the company. For the “outsider”, which Mr. Burkitbaev was from the point of view of oil and gas workers, this promised big problems with controllability. In addition, Uzakbai Karabalin, who was fired from his post as head of Kazmunaigas in May, suddenly became the general director of Mangistaumunaigas. And, apparently, he was sent there personally by Nursultan Nazarbayev, who, in fact, gave instructions to return this oil company to state control. This could be interpreted as a signal that the “old team’s” fall from grace was not as serious as it might have seemed two and a half months ago.

The arrival of Kairgeldy Kabyldin confirms this conclusion. He has worked at Kazmunaigas since its founding in 2002. First as managing director for transport infrastructure and service projects, and a few days after Karabalin’s appointment as head of this company in 2003, he was promoted to vice president for oil and gas transportation. Last September, Mr. Kabyldin was given an honorary promotion, given the position of deputy head of the Samruk state holding (which owns shares in many Kazakh state-owned companies, including Kazmunaigas). Before Kazmunaigas, for many years he headed Kaztransoil CJSC, the Kazakh equivalent of Transneft.

Nothing has been reported about Serik Burkitbaev’s future career prospects. Before a short-term business trip to Kazmunaigas, he was the head of the scientific and technological holding Samgau.

Alexey GRIVACHS