Kazakh Energy Minister: Government not talking to Lukoil on buying local assets

Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov stated on Monday that the Kazakh government has not held talks with Russian oil giant Lukoil regarding buying its Kazakh assets.

The Russian state media reported earlier that the KazMunayGas head, who is the state-owned oil company of Kazakhstan, had said the company was in discussions about Lukoil’s assets in Kazakhstan.

The Russian oil group has stakes in Kazakhstan’s Karachaganak oilfields and Tengiz oilfields. It also holds stakes in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium which transports the majority of Kazakhstan’s oil to Novorossiysk, a Russian port for export.

Akkenzhenov, a reporter, said that the government was not in negotiations to buy Lukoil assets.

The U.S. sanctioned Lukoil last month, citing the slow pace of peace talks between Russia & Ukraine. The oil giant has been forced to sell its overseas assets as a result of the move.

Akkenzhenov stated that "regarding negotiations about Lukoil assets, I believe the matter has been delayed until mid-December." He added that the Kazakh energy projects where Lukoil has stakes continue to run as usual.

Kazakhstan is a major oil producer and accounts for 2% of the daily supply. (Reporting and writing by Tamara Vaal, Felix Light, Mark Trevelyan, Jan Harvey).

(source: Reuters)