Oil of Kazakhstan. History in photographs (59 photos)

Oil is the breadwinner, pride, the cause of wars and intrigues and the main landmark in our country. This year, Kazakhstan has many reasons to celebrate: we are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Dossor field, the 50th anniversary of Mangistau oil and the 25th anniversary of the Kumkol field.

This fall the book “Oil of Kazakhstan. History in Photographs” is being published, which contains rare footage telling about the development of the oil and gas industry of our republic. Voxpopuli are the first to show part of this rich archive to the general public

1. In November 1899, the first fountain erupted from a well 40 m deep in the Karashungul tract, marking the beginning of the history of Kazakhstan oil. In April 1911, an oil field of such high quality was discovered in Dossor that it caused a stir on a global scale. Two years later, the Makat field is discovered in the Guryev region. By 1914, over 200 thousand tons of oil were produced in it and Dossor. The photo shows life near the first oil fields of Kazakhstan, 1910.

2. Pack caravan of an oil exploration party in the steppes of Western Kazakhstan. In 1917, after the October Revolution, nationalization of all industries took place in Russia. In 1922, the Embaneft trust was created and the Oil Fields Administration of the Ural-Emba region was formed. Since 1926, rotary drilling and geophysical exploration methods began to be used at Emba. The Guryev-Dossor railway is put into operation, along which Dossor oil is exported

3. In the 30s, the rapid development of the Guryev region began. Laboratories are created, an oil technical school is opened, and the Embanefteproekt office is formed. In June 1932, construction of the Guryev-Emba-Orsk oil pipeline began. New fields are being discovered: Baichunas, Koschagyl, Shubarkuduk, Kulsary

4. General view of the Dossor oil field

5. In 1935, the Stakhanov movement developed among Kazakh oil workers. Adbrakhman Karimov - Stakhanovite of the Dossor oil field of the Embaneft trust

6. During the war, in order to compensate for the temporary cessation of activity in the oil regions of Maykop and Grozny, the most important task was to speed up oil production in Kazakhstan. Oil workers of the Ural-Emibinsk region worked 12-13 hours a day, seven days a week, throughout the war years, extracting thousands of tons of oil and supplying fuel to the Soviet army. Emba oil became a contribution to the victory over fascism, which is still impossible to evaluate

7. The hardships of war and the ever-increasing need for high-quality fuel gave a powerful impetus to the development of the oil production and oil refining industry as a whole. For the first time in the USSR, Kazakh producers mastered the secondary method of oil production. The Sagiz, Zhaksymbay, Komsomolskoye, Koshkar, and Tentexor fields were put into development. Munaily, Bekbike and Karaton were put into operation. The turbine drilling method is being mastered. The Guryev Oil Refinery is under construction

8. K. Begembetova - operator of the Shubarkuduk field of the Aktyubneft trust, 1943.

9. The Great Patriotic War not only claimed millions of lives, but also left behind an economy completely devastated. The 50s were marked by active geological exploration work, as a result of which new fields were discovered: Terenozek, Tazhigali, Tyules, Karaarna, etc. In the early 50s, oil production in Kazakhstan reached the level of 1 million tons per year. At the same time, oil workers began to actively develop the Mangyshlak Peninsula and its rich oil deposits

10. A fuel tanker at the oil depot of the Leninsky grain farm, supplying fuel to tractors during field work. North Kazakhstan region, 1955

11. Masters of underground repair of wells in the Kulsary oil field, Guryev region, 1955.

12. Olga Sluzhivaya - oil field operator, Aktobe region, 1955

13. Electric welders of the mechanical repair shop of the Guryev Oil Refinery

14. A. Zhakasheva - operator of the Kulsary oil field, Guryev region, 1958

15. Pan-En-Khak - communications engineer at the Koshkar oil field, Guryev region, 1958.

16. Senior drilling foreman Vladimir Ponamorev (right) gives his colleagues the first samples of the oil he extracted, Guryev Region, 1959.

17. The next decade becomes a new stage in the history of the development of Kazakh oil. Exploration is being carried out at an accelerated pace on the Mangyshlak Peninsula. Systematically, kilometer by kilometer, its southern region is being studied and drilled, and an intensified search for new deposits is underway.

18. The well from which the first gush of oil was obtained in Mangyshlak

19. Volumes of oil exports to the world market are actively increasing. In the struggle to increase its share, the USSR ranks second in the overall ranking. The appearance of inexpensive Soviet oil on the market forces most oil companies in other countries to also reduce prices

20. The Karsak, Prorva, Martyshi, Tanatar, Kamyshitovoye Southwestern, and Kenkiyak fields were discovered and put into development. Deep drilling began at the Uzen field, the first fountain of Uzen oil was obtained

21. Meeting dedicated to the discovery of the Uzen oil field. The ribbon is cut by the secretary of the Guryev Regional Party Committee K. Likharev

22. This is how the city of New Uzen, Mangyshlak Peninsula, began, 1962.

23. V. Plokhov. Despite the surname, the best carpenter of the Ural-Volga oil and gas exploration expedition, West Kazakhstan region

24. U. Kobzhanov - driller of the Zhetybai oil exploration expedition, Guryev region

25. In 1965, the first echelon of Mangyshlak oil was sent to the Guryev oil refinery. Oil production in Kazakhstan reaches 2 million tons per year

26. After the discovery of the largest fields in the south of Mangyshlak, Uzen and Zhetybai, proven oil reserves increased 20 times, and annual production increased 14 times. By 1969, oil production in Kazakhstan was more than 10 million tons per year

27. Three thousandth train with Mangylshak oil, 1969

28. Tanker "Sabunchi" on the Caspian Sea

29. The 70s of the last century can easily be called a period of major oil discoveries. In a short time, the Karazhanbas, Northern Buzachi, and Kalamkas fields were discovered. By 1974, oil production at Mangyshlak reached 21 million tons per year, which placed Kazakhstan in second place in the Soviet Union

30. Construction of the Uzen-Guriev-Kuibyshev main oil pipeline was completed, 1970.

31. Winners of the competition “For high culture and aesthetics of workplaces”, laboratory assistants of the Guryev Oil Refinery, 1972.

32. Well development after major repairs at the Zhanatalap site, Guryev region, 1975.

33. Descent of technical column

34. At the oil exploration drilling site of the Karazhanbas field, Mangyshlak region, 1976.

35. Oil explorers at Karazhanbas

36. The honorary sign of quality is established by the winners of the competition “For a worthy meeting of the 60th anniversary of the Great October Revolution”, Guryev, 1977.

37. The best welders of the Guryev SMU management "Neftepromstroy" S. Amankulov and P. Karnaukhov

38. Installation of fittings for the future building of the coke-chemical workshop of the Guryev Oil Refinery named after Lenin

39. At the central compressor station of the Pavlodar petrochemical plant

40. Drillers of the Caspian oil exploration expedition, Komsomol members K. Iskakov and M. Nursapaev

41. At the Uzenneft oil field, 1982

42. Loading tankers with oil in the port of Shevchenko

43. Railway oil transshipment and distribution depot, Kokchetav, 1983.

44. Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Kazakh SSR Nursultan Nazarbayev at the oil refinery, Guryev, 1984

45. Fire at well No. 37 of the Tengiz field. The strongest fire lasted 398 days - from June 23, 1985 to July 27, 1986

46. Work of the emergency response team

47. The column of flame during the fire reached 200 meters in height and 50 in width. The temperature around the well reached one and a half thousand degrees Celsius, the nearby soil turned into a glassy mass from the colossal heating

48. During the liquidation of the accident, there were no casualties. Many ways have been tried to extinguish the flames - from the air, from underground. They proposed dropping a multi-ton steel slab from the sky or dragging it along the ground onto the mouth of a burning well like a lid. As a result, a year later, well No. 37 was shut down using a directed explosion from the inside

49. Rally regarding the production of the first million tons of oil from the Kumkol field, 1987

50. In the 90s, independent Kazakhstan began, by attracting foreign investment, to actively restore and develop the oil industry, which had fallen into decline after the collapse of the USSR.

51. An agreement is signed with the Chevron corporation on the creation of a Kazakh-American joint venture Tengizchevroil. In 1993, for the first time in Almaty, the international oil and gas exhibition KIOGE was held, the Ministry of Oil and Gas Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan was created, the Law “On Oil” was adopted, an agreement on the principles of production sharing at the Karachaganak field was signed between Agip, British Gas, OJSC Gazprom, Kazakhgaz and the Republic of Kazakhstan. An agreement is signed on the construction of a pipeline with a capacity of 60 million tons per year (CPC) between Kazakhstan, Russia, Oman and the International Petroleum Consortium. The national company "Kazakhoil" is created, to which all rights to Kazakhstan's participation in the development of major oil and gas projects are transferred, and the national company "KazTransOil"

52. In 1998, the presidents of Kazakhstan and Russia signed a historic agreement on the border along the northern part of the Caspian Sea. The reconstruction of the Caspian port of Aktau is being completed. In 1999, Kazakhstan celebrates the 100th anniversary of the oil industry of Kazakhstan, which dates back to the first oil gusher at Karashungul in 1989

53. Atyrau Oil Refinery

54. In the 2000s, KazTransGas JSC was created. With funds coming from the largest companies in the raw materials sector, the National Fund is established with the aim of accumulating financial assets for future generations

55. The giant Kashagan field, the largest in the world in the last 30 years, was discovered on the Caspian shelf. The national company "KazMunayGas" is formed

56. A trilateral Agreement is signed between Kazakhstan, Russia and Azerbaijan on the junction point of the demarcation lines of adjacent sections of the Caspian Sea bottom

57. In 2006, the billionth barrel of oil was produced at the Tengiz field. In 2010, annual oil production was more than 76 million tons

58. Headquarters of the Kazakhstan national oil company "KazMunayGas", Astana