In the last five years the costs of Tengizchevroil LLP (TCO) for personnel training programs totaled to about $33 million dollars US, the company informed petrocouncil.kz. However, according to data voiced by Kanat Bozumbayev, the Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan, about 5 thousand expatriate experts are working at the Future Growth Project (FGP) at Tengiz field.

“The technologies utilized for the development of Tengiz field are unique not only for Kazakhstan, but also for the neighboring post-Soviet countries. Therefore, it requires the attraction of highly qualified engineering and technical experts with extensive experience in the global oil and gas fields to ensure a reliable, uninterrupted and, most importantly, safe operations,”- said to petrocouncil.kz Rzabek Artygaliev, Tengizchevroil LLP Government and Public Relations General Manager.

With that, last year “the personnel training program and measures undertaken for local content increase allowed TCO to increase the share of Kazakhstan employees at the base business from 50% in 1993 to 88.7%”.

The company informed that according to the results of 2018 the number of employees involved in TCO base business amounted to 3,859 people. The share of Kazakstan full-time employees in TCO base business amounted to 88.7 and the share of Kazakhstan managers – to 77% from the total number of managers.

“173 local experts were appointed to top managerial, middle managerial and key engineering and technical positions, thus replacing expatriate workforce,”- the company emphasized.

In general, over the last five years, i.e. during the period of 2014-2018, “Tengizchevroil” LLP’s costs for employees training programs amounted to approx. $33 million dollars US. The company makes “efforts to give local workers the opportunity to gain international work experience.”

“By the end of 2018, 41 TCO employees worked in various divisions of “Chevron” Corporation within the framework of the program of temporary overseas assignments, as well as assignments within the Republic of Kazakhstan,”- shared the information Mr. Artygaliev.

He added that the company enforced a higher education and professional certification program. Since 2009 within the framework of this program 183 employees received additional education.

Also “Zhas-Urpak” (Young Generation) program is in force, within the framework of which more than 100 grants are provided on annual basis. The program is aimed to provide financial assistance to company employees’ children to receive education in national and foreign universities and colleges. Since 1998 TCO allocated $6.5 million dollars US for financial assistance under this program. In 2017-2018 academic year alone, 126 students participated in the program and received financial assistance in the amount of $ 400,000 dollars US.

It bears reminding that in June of this year the conflict took place in Tengiz between expatriate and local employees of Consolidated Contracting Engineering & Procurement S.A.L. Offshore (CCEP), a TCO contractor engaged in construction and installation activities at the Future Growth Project. In these conditions, because of the incident, the construction activities at the third generation plant had been suspended. The conflict was sparked by the photo of a Kazakh girl published in social network by CCEP expatriate employee.

Later, Kanat Bozumbayev, the Minister of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, said that currently more than 360 companies are working at FGP. About 53 thousand workers are involved in the project in Kazakhstan, including 48 thousand local and 5 thousand expatriate workforce, of which 23 thousand are employees of contracting companies and 25 thousand – of subcontracting companies.