Photo: Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan

BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 27. Kazakhstan's Ministry of Energy and Saudi Arabian SNF SA have signed a memorandum of cooperation to develop local production of polymer products and equipment for the oil and gas industry, the ministry said.

The memorandum was signed on the sidelines of the Kazakhstan Forum on Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) 2026, being held in Astana on August 26-28.

Under the agreement, SNF SA is considering investing up to 100 million euros in developing local production facilities in Kazakhstan.

The project is expected to meet the needs of major oil and gas industry customers, increase local content and create opportunities for the implementation of regional projects.

"Developing technological cooperation and attracting international companies to create production facilities in Kazakhstan is of particular importance. Such projects contribute to technology transfer, localization and the development of domestic competencies," Kazakhstan's Vice Minister of Energy Yerlan Akbarov said.

The memorandum also provides for the introduction of advanced technologies and the transfer of relevant expertise to Kazakhstan.

The SNF delegation at the signing included Flavien Gathier, director of engineering for enhanced oil recovery applications and oil and gas solutions. Representatives of Alstron, Pavel Kibitkin and Alexey Antonnikov, also attended the meeting.

The EOR forum brings together government officials, oil and gas companies, researchers, international experts and oilfield service companies. Discussions focus on modern chemical, gas, thermal and combined EOR methods, localization of oilfield equipment and chemical reagents, and mechanisms for introducing advanced technologies at mature oil fields in Kazakhstan.