Shymkentnefteorgsintez (KS code - SOR, oil refinery) intends to invest US $150m to modernise and upgrade equipment over the next 5 years, Chairman Nurlan Bizakov told Interfax. About US $50m have already been invested at the first stage of modernisation. The second stage will start in 1999 when a catalytic cracking facility will go into operation. The facility will cost US $70-100m and will allow production of light petroleum products. According to Mr. Bizakov, the management is planning to create a vertically integrated oil company with its own oil field. The Canada's Hurricane Kumkol Munai, which has been developing the Kumkol deposit in Central Kazakhstan, supplies up to 80% of the total crude oil delivered to the refinery. Other supplies are TengizMunai and AktobeMunaiGas. The refinery processed 1.809 million tonnes of crude in the first half of 1998 and its production output grew 8.2% compared to the same period last year. The company has an authorised capital of KZT100m (some US $1.3m) and a profitability of 20%.

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Oryx Kazakhstan Energy Company has reportedly started exploration well drilling on the Mertvyi Kultuk oil deposit located in the Kazakhstani Caspian sector 13 km off shore (Mangystau region in the west of Kazakhstan). According to company vice-president Charles Summers, the cost to prepare and implement the drilling totals US $9m. He didn't give any figure to characterise deposit's expected reserves. In the Mangystau region, the company has been developing the Arman oil deposit for three years now and has reached an output of 800-820 tonnes of oil per day. To transport crude oil, it uses a pipeline network owned by the national company Kaztransoil. (Interfax)

Kazzinc is planning to boost the production of zinc this year to 245,000 tonnes from 189,000 in 1997. The base and precious metal group also said that led production in 1998 would be increased to 80,000 tonnes from 72,000 tonnes in 1997. The forecasts were published in a book issued recently to mark the official opening of the Kazakhstani new capital Astana. Kazzinc is the CIS' largest producer of zinc and lead. The company is 62% owned by Swiss trading group Glencore AG. It is included in the blue chip companies list and part of the state stake in the company will be sold on the KASE.(Reuters)

Kazakhtelecom and the Israeli company Gilat Ehud Orgil signed a U S $6.2m contract on Friday, July 17, to build a national satellite network DAMA. The network will cover 250 small towns and villages in Kazakhstan. Gilat has been selected as a result of an open tender. For the Kazakhstani party the terms of financing were very important since it is not a commercial but a socially oriented project. Israel's bank Leumi will provide a 5-year loan at an interest rate slightly higher than LIBOR. The construction will start on September 1 of this year and will take 18 months (Interfax).