IFC MAKES FIRST INVESTMENT IN KAZAKSTAN'S OIL INDUSTRY
L. Joseph
Phone: (202) 473-7700
Fax: (202) 676-0365
E-mail: LJOSEPH@Worldbank.org
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 26 -- The International
Finance Corporation (IFC) announced the signing of a financing package
of up to US$65 million for Kazgermunai (KGM), a German-Kazak joint venture
in Kazakstan that is considered a significant step in revitalizing the
Kazak oil industry. KGM will produce and export up to 22,000 barrels per
day of crude oil from the Akshabulak, Nuraly, and Aksay oil fields in the
south Turgai basin of central Kazakstan.
Speaking at the signing, IFC's Director of Oil, Gas and Mining, Mr. Azam
Alizai said, "IFC's investment in KGM, the Corporation's largest to
date in the former Soviet Union and the first in Kazakstan's oil sector,
is an important beginning to support the industry, which is considered
the linchpin for Kazakstan's long-term economic growth and development.
The project will help alleviate oil shortages in eastern Kazakstan and
earn valuable foreign exchange for the country."
IFC's investment consists of equity and shareholder loans of up to US$65
million for its share of the US$250 million oil field development project.
KGM, one of the first joint ventures in the Kazak oil sector, is owned
by RWE-DEA (25%), a major German energy concern; Erdol-Erdgas Gommern GmbH
(17.5%), a subsidiary of the Gaz de France Group; and IFC (7.5%); with
the balance held by Yuzkazneftegas (50%), a subsidiary of the Kazak state-owned
oil company, Munaigas.
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest multilateral source
of equity and loan financing for private sector projects in developing
countries. To date, IFC has invested about US$3.6 billion-in oil and gas
projects worldwide, of which $1.9 billion was for IFC's account.
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