Kevin Lyon, General Director of Tengizchevroil LLP (TCO), and Khalel Zhamalov, Akim of the Zhylyoi District of the Atyrau Oblast, met with residents of Kulsary to listen to their concerns and demonstrate a commitment to continue to work together to address local needs.
“The Zhylyoi district and Kulsary are very important for TCO. We care about the social and economic development of the region as we have been operating here for many years. More than 10,000 TCO and business partner employees come from this region and 39 companies who work for TCO are from Zhylyoi”, highlighted Kevin Lyon.
Since TCO’s Egilik voluntary social infrastructure program was launched, 59 of 100 projects were implemented in Zhylyoi region. These include schools, kindergartens, sport facilities, public spaces enhancements and many more. For the last two years, approximately 80 percent of the $25 million-dollar annual budget for Egilik has been dedicated to the Zhylyoi region. In 2022, under Egilik, TCO will be completing the Kulsary hospital and sports stadium.
Moreover, since 2010, TCO implemented a voluntary Community Investment Program in partnership with non-governmental organizations to improve education and healthcare in the Atyrau region. 50 of 94 social projects implemented under this program were focused on Zhylyoi region.
During the meeting with residents, Mr. Lyon called for working with the Atyrau Oblast and Zhylyoi Region Akimats to find ways to provide more support to Zhylyoi region and Kulsary through TCO’s voluntary Egilik and Community Investment programs. In total, both of these social investment programs amount to approximately $27 million per year. In addition, TCO will look for ways to increase its efforts to work with local Zhylyoi district companies on projects at Tengiz and Kulsary.
During the meeting, TCO announced that it will reinstate its Community Advisory Council in Zhylyoi region to consult local communities on social needs and types of socioeconomic projects for implementation. TCO expects that this Community Council will involve community leaders and residents, Akimat representatives, TCO and other key stakeholders. Finally, TCO plans to re-establish a TCO representative office in Kulsary so that residents can have access to TCO through local representatives.
During the meeting, TCO addressed community questions regarding its environmental performance. Since 2000, TCO has invested approximately $3.1 billion to reduce total air emissions and air emissions intensity by 65%. TCO has built a wastewater treatment facility (WTF) and associated water recycling facilities (WRF) to focus on freshwater conservation and wastewater management. Currently, the company reuses 46% of water at Tengiz. Last year, TCO signed a memorandum of understanding with the Akimat of Atyrau Oblast to plant trees on 50 hectares of land in Kulsary. By the end of 2022, 9,000 seedlings will be planted on the first 15 hectares of land, 50 of which were planted by local Kulsary residents, Khalel Zhamalov, and Kevin Lyon just before the community meeting.
“As you can see, TCO is committed to conducting our operations in a socially and environmentally responsible manner and in compliance with all relevant Republic of Kazakhstan laws, regulations and requirements. It is important to note that the RoK Government is the competent authority in ensuring compliance with these laws and TCO provides all relevant reports on its activities consistent with RoK regulations,” TCO General Director, Kevin Lyon, explained.
