KazMunayGas CEO Aidarbayev resigning, deputy appointed acting head of company

NUR-SULTAN. April 11 (Interfax) - Alik Aidarbayev, chairman of the board of Kazakhstan's KazMunayGas (KMG) national company, is leaving his post, the KMG press service said in a statement.

"The powers of Alik Aidarbayev as Chairman of the Board were terminated ahead of schedule in line with the submitted request. By decision of the Board of JSC Samruk-Kazyna, Kurmangazy Oryngazievich Iskaziev was appointed acting Chairman of the Board of JSC KazMunayGas," the company said in the statement.

Aidarbayev had led the company since November 2018.

Iskaziyev was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of KazMunayGas for Exploration and Production in February of this year. He has been working at KazMunayGas since 2006 and has held various executive positions.

It was reported earlier that President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev believes that special blame for allowing the protest situation in January 2022 in the cities of Kazakhstan lies with the government of the country, in particular, the Ministry of Energy, as well as with KazMunayGas and KazakhGas.

Mass unrest occurred in Kazakhstan in early January. Peaceful rallies that began in the city of Zhanaozen (in the west of the country) escalated into mass protests across the country with economic and political demands. In some regions, pogroms and attacks on administrative buildings, police stations and stores began.

KazMunayGas is Kazakhstan's national operator for exploration, production, processing and transportation of hydrocarbons, representing the state's interests in the oil and gas industry. 90.42% of the company is owned by the Samruk-Kazyna State Fund and 9.58% by the National Bank of Kazakhstan.