Oil-&-gas companies voice their approaches at 22nd plenary session of FIC ASTANA. December 7. KAZINFORM /Anar Zhumabekova/ The active, well-thought-out foreign policy of Kazakhstan has helped the country to root good contacts with the leading industrially developed countries and conclude partnership agreements in the sphere of economic relations. It is particular that those agreements did not aim at mere commercial supplies, but obtaining technologies and investments into development of national industry.Kazakhstan is determined to enter the group of 50 most competitive countries, hence the main goal is to raise both foreign and national investments into the country's economy, develop human potential and introduce innovations in order to fulfill the programs of competitive economic growth. The rich natural resources, agricultural and industrial potential, strategically-significant location, internal political stability and many other factors have attracted a lot of foreign investors into the country. In order to ensure a direct dialogue between the Government of Kazakhstan and investors operating in the country there was set up the Council of Foreign Investors for the prompt management of the problems arising in the investment activity in Kazakhstan. The major sphere of investing is extractive industry. Below are the recommendations made by oil-and-gas companies at the 22nd Plenary Session of the Council on the 4th of December in Astana. George Kirkland, Executive Vice-President Upstream and Gas, Chevron Corporation "As Kazakhstan moves forward in its efforts to deploy and develop new technologies, our efforts so far suggest two elements above all are critical for success: A Commitment to Technical Excellence; and A Sense of Mission We have learnt that a Commitment to Technical Excellence should be pragmatic and feasible. And for a technology to succeed in Kazakhstan, it needs a commercial application in Kazakhstan. Successful new technologies will also depend on some other key elements... recognized processes designed to support the highest technical standards... proper governance of these standards...a dedication to developing and training Kazakhstan's human resources and maybe most importantly a long-term commitment at the highest level to make such an initiative succeed. Our sense of Mission focuses on the technology Kazakhstan needs and applying that technology to sustainable commercial projects which help diversify the economy. As a long-term partner, we are confident that Kazakhstan is up to every challenge, and we look forward to even more "cooperative leadership" to create opportunities for the people of Kazakhstan." Malcolm Brinded, Executive Director, Shell Upstream International, Member of the Shell Board: "The oil and gas industry also has been the potential to become a major driver for innovation and technology development in Kazakhstan, as it has been in many other countries. We propose that Kazakhstan considers the Norwegian government approach as it evaluates various approaches to develop Kazakhstan's R&D potential. We believe that such an approach can help establish a mechanism to support investment in R&D in the oil-and-gas industry in Kazakhstan. We are ready to share our knowledge and expertise to work with the government of Kazakhstan to help shape the oil-and-gas technology strategy for Kazakhstan. As a first step, we would like to propose that the government of Kazakhstan undertakes a mapping exercise to identify technology development priorities for oil and gas sector. Shell is ready to take a lead in supporting this initiative." Frank Chapman, Chief Executive Officer, BG Group: "In supporting development of local capacity, investors and the Republic both have key contributions to make. Investors need to consider their longer term needs and identify and support development of capacity in their specific industry sector, while the Republic can deploy revenues generated by existing industries to build greater economic diversity in step by step process. The success of these joint efforts must be measured against the rate of progress with industrial development, as well as in long-term sustainability. Here, clear targets are needed to demonstrate that suppliers are successfully progressing towards the goal of international competitiveness, which remains the only true source of sustainability. So part of our job is to work diligently together to plan how and in which sectors the development of local capacity should be prioritized, and how its evolution can be guided to ensure that the goal of international competitiveness can be achieved. In addition to bringing the skills, finance and technology needed to unlock Kazakhstan's resources foreign investors have an important part to play in this process." Alexander Machkevitch, Shareholder, Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation PLC (ENRC): "For successful implementation of the technological development and diversification policy it is necessary to take into account various factors. Among them are operating and human resources, innovations in technology and new form of cooperation between the government, major companies, and small and medium businesses. We hope that discussion of the State Five Year Plan for development will facilitate such optimal model or public-private partnership." James Mulva, Chairman and CEO, ConocoPhillips "Becoming a natural gas hub would consolidate Kazakhstan's position within the Caspian region and provide a substantial competitive advantage: A pipeline to China to provide a second export route. A trans-Caspian pipeline, likely through Turkey, to provide a third export route. Continued progress on pipelines connecting Kazakhstan's western producing regions to its eastern domestic markets, and to the China pipeline. Expansion of domestic markets and gas-fired power generation capacity. Since gas is efficient and clean burning with a smaller carbon footprint than coal or oil, this could allow Kazakhstan to monetize Kyoto credits, and become a leader in clean power generation. And last, a possible increase in gas storage capacity."