Initiatives and Memberships

KMG and the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs of the RoK “Atameken” entered into an agreement on cooperation in legal matters.

The agreement provides for interaction of the parties in such important legal areas as improvement of legislation, development of joint programmes and projects aimed at raising legal culture, expanding the role of arbitration in resolution of commercial disputes, etc.

The KMG management is involved in the activities of several committees and working groups of the Association.

The chairmanship in the Coordination Council of KAZENERGY for ecology, social responsibility and transparency is an opportunity for KMG to promote sustainable development in the oil and gas sector of Kazakhstan.

KMG and Kazakhstan Association of Oil, Gas and Energy Sector Organisations “KAZENERGY” have entered into a Memorandum of Cooperation.

The Memorandum provides for joint activities in such key legal areas as improvement of the RoK legislation; development of joint programmes and projects aimed at raising legal culture; cooperation in holding round tables, workshops, conferences on topical issues in the legal field, etc.

Our membership in the UN Global Compact and the annual posting of the Sustainability Report on the UNGC website to show KMG’s progress in promoting the principles of the Global Compact and 17 Global Sustainable Development Goals clearly demonstrate our commitment to the principles of sustainable development.

Since 2018, KMG has been a full member of the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP).

Over the years of its membership in IOGP, KMG has learnt and used international best IOGP recommendations and practices, which has helped to improve KMG’s HSE performance and overall management system, as well as increased KMG’s capabilities and rating at the international level.

Starting from 2022, KMG has adopted the Life-Saving Rules, which replace the Gold Rules previously in force for the Group.

IOGP has analysed two thousand fatal accidents in about one hundred IOGP member companies from 1991 to the present. As a result of the analyses, the association identified the most frequently recurring safety violations.

To prevent these violations, 9 Life-Saving Rules have been developed. These rules inform workers of actions they can take to protect themselves and their co-workers from fatalities.

As part of the Low-Carbon Development Programme, KMG intends to implement its own RES projects, for which it is developing its competencies in the field of renewable energy and is actively involved in legislative work to improve legislation. To this end, in early 2022 KMG joined “Qazaq Green” RES Association, established to promote the principles of green economy and contribute to achieving carbon neutrality of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The key tasks of the Association include representing and protecting the interests of its members in government bodies, participating in the rule-making process, and making specific proposals to government bodies to create favourable conditions for the implementation of RES projects in Kazakhstan.

Goals and objectives: to improve the quality and competitiveness of welding production products in the Republic of Kazakhstan, to increase the number and improve the quality of welding specialists in accordance with international standards, to establish a network of welding training centres capable of training the required number of specialists in accordance with international standards, to introduce international standards of education, to train and certify welding production personnel, to authorise welding training centres in accordance with international standards, to authorise welding training centres in accordance with IIW standards, to collect and disseminate information on new welding technologies, welding materials and equipment and to assist in their introduction.

New Kazakhstan Taxpayers Association (NKTA) is a non-profit organisation established to help protect the legitimate rights and interests of taxpayers, improve their knowledge to ensure voluntary and timely payment of taxes.

NKTA systematises and analyses problematic issues, proposals and comments in the field of taxation. The results of systematic work are dialogues between state authorities and taxpayers within the framework of round tables, conferences, forums and working groups, as well as a set of proposals for amendments and additions to the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan on taxation.

On 7 August 2020, it was decided in Astana to establish the “Association of Producers and Consumers of Petrochemical Products” (Petro Gas Chemical Association).

The purpose of the Association is to unite legal entities to represent common interests and promote sustainable development of the oil and gas chemical industry in Kazakhstan.

The Association of Legal Entities “Union of Mechanical Engineers of Kazakhstan” was founded in 2004. It unites more than 694 enterprises of mechanical engineering and metalworking industry.

The purpose of the Union is to support and develop the domestic mechanical engineering industry and consolidate domestic mechanical engineering enterprises.

The mission of the Union is to achieve a competitive and export-oriented level in domestic mechanical engineering.

The initiative brings together governments, oil companies and development organisations who agree to cooperate to stop the practice of routine flaring of associated petroleum gas (APG) by 2030 at the latest. KMG supported this initiative in 2015 and has set itself the goal of increasing the beneficial use of crude gas (APG) and reducing routine gas flaring to zero.

In 2023, KMG published a 2022 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report as part of the CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) Climate Programme. The Report contains data on direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions for all KMG assets, including subsidiaries in Romania and Georgia. CDP 2022 Water Safety Questionnaire was also published.

KMG supports the Global Methane Initiative (GMI) and regularly discloses information on its environmental performance to all stakeholders as part of its Sustainability Report. In 2017, as part of its methane emission reduction activities, KMG joined the GMI Project Network, which is a growing community of private sector entities, financial institutions, and other governmental and non-governmental organisations interested in methane emission reduction projects, and in methane recovery and use.

Understanding the importance of reducing methane emissions into the atmosphere, KazMunayGas became the first Kazakh national company in 2023 to join the OGMP 2.0 Partnership organised by UNEP and IMEO on the margins of the COP28 Climate Change Conference. Thus, KazMunayGas signed a Memorandum of Understanding with UNEP as part of the COP28 conference.

The Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 (OGMP 2.0) is the United Nations Environment Programme’s flagship programme for reporting and reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas industry. OGMP 2.0 is the only comprehensive measurement-based reporting system for the oil and gas industry that improves the accuracy and transparency of methane emissions reporting. This is key to prioritising actions to reduce methane emissions in the industry.

As part of its participation in the Conference of Parties (COP-28), KMG became one of 52 oil and gas companies to join the Oil and Gas Decarbonisation Charter, a global industry initiative aimed at achieving high performance and accelerating climate action in the sector. The key goals of the Initiative are to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, reduce routine gas flaring by 2030 and achieve near-zero methane emissions.

In 2022, KMG joined the National ESG Club, whose priority objectives are to develop recommendations and expert assessments in the following areas: reducing environmental impact in the Republic of Kazakhstan, developing sustainable finance at a new level, attracting investment in decarbonisation of the economy and social projects, and creating favourable conditions for Kazakhstani businesses in ESG transformation.

In September 2020, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed in Baku between JSC NC “KazMunayGas”, the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan, BP Exploration (Caspian Sea) Limited, Equinor Apsheron AS and TOTAL E&P Absheron B.V. The Memorandum envisages the establishment of the Caspian Region Environmental Protection Initiative. The main objectives of the Initiative are to create the first platform for environmental protection and joint research of international oil companies operating in the region. The activities of the participating companies will be aimed at active joint efforts to resolve the climate change problem, which poses threats to the environmental sustainability of the Caspian region, and to prevent emissions of greenhouse gases and harmful substances into the environment.

On 1 March 2022, KMG officially joined the global initiative to promote the concept of Vision Zero.

Vision Zero is a qualitatively new approach to organising prevention, combining three areas – safety, occupational health and employee well-being at all levels of production. The ISSA’s Vision Zero concept is flexible and can be adapted to specific prevention activities prioritised for employee safety, occupational health and well-being.

This concept implies a sequence of actions by the employer in order to protect the employees as much as possible, to create optimum working condition. On behalf of the employee – working safely, growing responsibility not only for themselves, but also for colleagues.

Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL) is a British company established in 1985, specialising in oil spill response and offering its services worldwide. More than a hundred world companies are members of OSRL. The Company pays primary attention to prevention and removal of oil contaminations not only offshore but also in coastal areas.

The aim of the Initiative is to encourage and support the oil industry and governments in the region to work together to promote recognised, robust, integrated and sustainable national, regional and international oil spill response solutions. The Initiative is implemented through IPIECA, the global oil and gas industry association for environmental and social issues (www.ipieca.org). For IPIECA, OSPRI is the regional means of implementing the international efforts on assistance to Oil Spill Preparedness, in close cooperation with International Marine Organisation (IMO – www.imo.org) and other international organisations.

The mission of RPA “Oil & Gas Industry Veterans” is creating the conditions for interactive communication of industry veterans, meeting their professional and amateur interests aimed at development of the oil and gas industry, using their potential and experience in operations, active participation in the life of society, transferring their life and professional experience to the younger generation of oil workers.

In 2021, a Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation was signed between JSC NC “KazMunayGas” and RPA “Oil & Gas Industry Veterans”. It was agreed in the Memorandum to utilise the practical experience, scientific, technical and intellectual potential of oil & gas industry veterans. The Expert Council of oil & gas industry veterans of JSC NC “KazMunayGas” has been established. The key objectives of the Council are developing the recommendations for implementation of KMG’s strategic programmes in the field of technological and digital development of the oil and gas industry, discussing public initiatives related to oil and gas industry development, participating in developing expert recommendations for the regulatory framework of the oil and gas industry, preparing expert opinions on issues significantly affecting the operations of KMG, providing analytical, expert, informational and advisory support in the operations of KMG.

KMG joined the Kazakhstan Association of Regional Environmental Initiatives “Ecojer” in 2021. The purpose of the Association is to consolidate the business community and civil society to protect common interests in the field of environmental protection. The Association strives to achieve a balance between the directions of state policy, the interests of the public and the needs of economic development.

The rating is conducted by PwC Kazakhstan among Kazakh companies. The survey assessed the quality and availability of ESG information in annual reports and sustainability reports.

The purpose of the rating is to assess how Kazakh companies disclose ESG information, identify best practices and provide recommendations for further development. The rating methodology includes 129 criteria. A score is given for each criterion (from 1 to 10). The assessment criteria included such disclosures units as sustainable development strategy, corporate governance, society, environment, and reporting practices. Additional points were awarded for the clarity, timeliness and quality of information presentation.

JSC NC “KazMunayGas” ranked first among the top 50 companies for disclosure of non-financial information in corporate reports.

The best scores of the top 50 Kazakh companies on average are for disclosure of sustainable development strategy. At the same time, the strategic section assessed disclosures on the process of identifying material sustainability issues, the availability of goals, as well as stakeholder engagement and integration of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Also, one of the most challenging tasks is to disclose information on social impacts, i.e. to understand these impacts: to determine how the company affects people’s lives and to assess the extent of this impact. Here KMG also received high score from experts and a special nomination for the best disclosure of social issues.

A subsidiary of KazTransOil JSC was also among the top 10 leaders of the rating.

To see the rating, please visit  https://www.pwc.com/kz/en/assets/esg-2023-final-draft.pdf.