TCO to reduce Direct Budget Payments in 2009

    A press release from Tengizchevroil distributed on August 7 has announced TCO will reduce direct payments to Kazakhstan by more than 3 times in 2009.
    According to the message, TCO’s total direct payments to Kazakhstan in 2009 were 2.6 billion dollars. In 2008, it paid 8.2 billion dollars to Kazakhstan’s budget.
    Between 1993 and QI 2009, the consortium paid 32.9 billion dollars.
    This amount included salaries for national staff, purchased Kazakhstani goods and services, payments to government enterprises, dividends to Kazakhstani partners, as well as taxes and royalties.
    During QI, TCO purchased 536 million dollars worth of Kazakhstani goods and services, and from 2006 to 2008, TCO purchased 3.6 billion dollars worth of Kazakhstani goods and services, according to KazTag.