Chevron and KazMunayGas set on unlocking lower carbon potential in Kazakhstan

As decarbonisation initiatives make inroads in the energy sector, the U.S.-based energy giant, Chevron, has joined forces with JSC National Company (NC) KazMunayGas (KMG), a firm representing Kazakhstan’s interests in the national oil and gas industry, to collaborate on evaluating, investigating, and pursuing lower carbon opportunities in the country.

Chevron Corporation informed on Tuesday that it had inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU), through its subsidiary Chevron Munaigas with JSC NC KazMunayGas to explore potential lower carbon business opportunities in Kazakhstan.

Derek Magness, managing director for Chevron’s Eurasian Business Unit, commented: “Chevron has been investing in Kazakhstan for close to three decades. We are proud of our history of partnership and are committed to investing in the country’s energy future. This MoU with KazMunayGas marks a new chapter in our company’s efforts to support the development of Kazakhstan’s energy sector.”

Commenting on this MoU, Magzum Mirzagaliyev, chairman of the Management Board of KMG, remarked: “At the UN Climate Ambition Summit, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev made a statement about Kazakhstan’s intention to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. KazMunayGas, in its turn, has set a goal to reduce its carbon footprint by 15 per cent by 2031 compared to 2019 levels and is going to take further actions under the Paris Agreement and Kazakhstan’s Doctrine of Carbon Neutral Development.

“However, lower carbon is a new area for us, and we believe that Chevron’s wide experience in implementing lower-carbon technologies and practices in the oil and gas industry will contribute to our capabilities and lead to joint lower-carbon projects.”

The MoU was signed by Derek Magness and Magzum Mirzagaliyev in Nur-Sultan on the eve of the 34th Plenary session of the Foreign Investors Council chaired by the president of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Chevron’s executive vice president of Upstream, Jay Johnson.

“We firmly believe that we can play an important role in the country’s energy transition and achievement of its carbon-reduction targets. Through our collaboration with KMG, we hope to contribute to providing affordable, reliable, ever-cleaner energy, and help the industries and customers who use our products to advance their lower carbon goals,” added Magness.

The two players plan to evaluate the potential for lower carbon projects in areas such as carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS); hydrogen; energy efficiency and methane management; and carbon financial disclosure methodology.

This collaboration is part of the efforts undertaken by Chevron and KazMunayGas to support Kazakhstan’s target vision to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

Jeff Gustavson, president of Chevron New Energies – launched in 2021 to focus on establishing lower carbon businesses in CCUS, hydrogen, renewable fuels, offsets, and other emerging areas – stated: “Chevron knows the future of energy is lower carbon and achieving the global net-zero ambitions of the Paris Agreement will require partnership and collaboration. We are excited about the opportunity to pursue these lower carbon opportunities with KazMunayGas and help advance the energy transition in Kazakhstan.”

Due to the changing landscape within the industry, which is transitioning towards a cleaner energy mix, Chevron revealed a simplified organisational structure and senior leadership changes last month, in hopes of further bolstering execution across its business.