In the meantime, to our mind, in conformity with provisions of the operating legal acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan, any inspections should be aimed at examining the way subsoil user fulfils its contractual obligations; how reliably the production complex works; how technological rules are observed; how industrial safety and labor protection are ensured; what measures subsoil user takes on protection of environmental and health; how tax and other financial obligations are met. However, each time, an inspector only draws its attention to the fact that the company commits emergency emissions through gas flaring, but a possibility of such actions is envisaged by law (please see Article 30-5 of the ROK Law «On Oil»), and it is made in order to prevent a greater damage, to ensure safety at production facilities and protect people. Of course, it should be paid for, and the company does pay, however, it should not be regarded as an illegal activity by the subsoil user. Emergency situations are directly connected with reliability of equipment and technological process. This indicator in TCO is the highest in the industry and makes up 97%, therefore certain cases of a technological failure happening at production facilities, cases of stoppage of some instruments and devices or outage of electrical networks should not be treated as an emergency, it is a normal process of a large production complex. And if these stoppages are controlled, it testifies to a high reliability of technological process management and measures on prevention of emergency situations associated with an uncontrolled impact on natural environment. Everyone knows the current opinion spread in state agencies and even among the public that TCO in unauthorized way places and stores block sulfur in special production sites (sulfur pads). But such technology is envisaged by all original and acting at present standard-technical documents elaborated by outside scientific and design institutions, concurred and approved by all competent governmental agencies in the field of protection of subsoil and environment. Sulfur is one of basic TCO products; it is located and stored in compliance with all standards and norms established by legal acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan and international acts. The company has a clear Program on marketing the stored block sulfur and considerably reducing its volumes within the next few years. The demands to promptly sell all the sulfur stored without taking into account production and marketing capabilities of the company and the market demand for sulfur are ungrounded and unlawful. Nobody can make a producer get rid of its product by any means to the detriment of its own financial interests and financial interests of its founders. In this connection, I want to note that TCO mandatory payments for sulfur storage are also based on the law, but this is another topic that I frequently addressed at various fora and in mass media. And finally, it is necessary to understand that subsoil use, as any anthropogenic activity cannot be exclusively pure and safe for environment. On the contrary, oil and gas industry facilities are hazardous in the first place, the whole production activities and technological operations to a certain degree affect environment, and therefore subsoil users take considerable measures aimed at their production activities to be in compliance with the established norms, standards, limits and other requirements of safe business conduct. Only an objective approach to assessment of production activities of a subsoil user can promote formation of normal relations based on provisions of the legal acts in force. It is necessary to achieve a fair balance between the interests of the state, society and subsoil user in order to exclude disputes and conflicts. The oil and gas industry is a potentially hazardous sphere of anthropogenic activities. But it ceases to be hazardous at a high level of production cycle management, where the subsoil user fulfils its contractual obligations, when an objective and just monitoring is ensured on the part of competent government agencies, and arising problems (of production, technological, environmental, social, legal and other nature) are resolved on the basis of statutory provisions. This industry is still a «locomotive» of the whole economy of Kazakhstan, and it needs an attitude it deserves, there should be no conflicts in this sphere, especially with those who show high examples of production activities and business management. As for all kinds of statements by high-ranking officials about a revoke of the license, suspension or termination of the contract, they do not contribute to formation of a positive image around law-abiding subsoil users, they undermine the authority of the state power in the opinion of the community and business media, and do not promote improvement of the situation on ensuring due law and order in this sphere of Kazakhstan’s economy. That is why such fora as Atyrau legal conferences are held, where we, organizers of the conference, try to create an atmosphere of an open dialogue on the existing problems and issues between all participants of the forum in search of optimal ways for their resolution and provision of a balance of interests between the state, society, investors and business entities. And we are confident that indeed an open discussion of the existing problems and mutual search for correct decisions and compromises is the most effective means for achieving order and justice.
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