Kazakhstan’s KMG EP to reduce dividend payments

As of 2014, Kazakhstan’s KazMunaiGas Exploration Production company will greatly reduce dividend payments, the company said May 20.

JSC KazMunaiGas Exploration Production ("KMG EP" or the "Company") held its regular Board of Directors (“the Board”) meeting and the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (“AGM”) on May 19, 2015.

The shareholders approved the Financial Statements and the Annual Report for 2014.

The shareholders also approved the dividend for 2014 of 440 Tenge (185.8 tenge = $1) (including taxes to be withheld in accordance with the legislation of Kazakhstan) per one ordinary and one preferred share of KMG EP. This is equivalent to about 30 bn tenge ($162m).

As of 2013, the amount of dividend per share (ordinary and preferred) hit 1.976 tenge including taxes.

The dividend amount (per one ordinary and one preferred share) is fixed in US dollars on the date when the Board decision was made.

As of 2013, the total amount of dividend amounted to about 135 billion tenge (about $ 730 million).

The payment of the annual dividend for 2014 will be made to shareholders of record as at 23:59 of June 1, 2015 and will commence on July 1, 2015.

KMG EP is among the top three Kazakh oil producers. The overall production in 2014 was 12.3 million metric tons (250,000 bpd) of crude oil, including the Company’s share in Kazgermunai, CCEL and PKI. The Company’s total consolidated volume of proved and probable reserves including shares in the associates, as at the end of 2014 was 177 million metric tons (1.303 billion barrels), out of which 132 million metric tons (981 million barrels) relates to Ozenmunaigas, Embamunaigas, and Ural Oil and Gas (Rozhkovskoye field, Fyodorovskiy block).

/By Trend/