The Tengiz oil field was discovered in 1979. This oil deposit is 19 km long and 21 km wide, the deepest among all the known developed super-giant oilfields. This oil field had to be developed under very harsh conditions (considerable depth, abnormally high strata pressure, high temperature, high content of hydrogen sulphide, acid components, etc.) The discovery and assessment of Tengiz doubled Kazakhstan’s oil reserves. Its size and favourable geographic and economic location, including closeness to main pipelines, power transfer lines, railway and a large industrial center, made it a priority for the national industrial strategy. Commercial oil production in Tengiz started in 1991.

The Closed Joint-Stock Company "National Company "KazMunayGas" (KMG) was founded by merging the National Oil and Gas Company "Kazakhoil" CJSC and the National Company "Oil and Gas Transportation" CJSC. The RK Government is the Founder and the Principal Shareholder in the new company.

KMG is a vertically inte¬grated petroleum company uniting over 45 enterprises engaged in the full range of upstream and downstream operations, such as prospecting, production, refining, transportation and disposal of hydrocarbon raw materials, construction of oil industry facilities, telecommunications and transportation. The company is also involved in designing, building and operating oil and gas pipelines and output infrastructure.

BG has been active in Kazakhstan for more than a decade. It is a joint operator of the giant Karachaganak gas condensate field in north-west Kazakhstan and a shareholder in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC). The CPC pipeline links reserves in western Kazakhstan to the Black Sea and provides access to world markets. In addition, BG is a partner in the North Caspian Sea Production Sharing Agreement (PSA).

The Karachaganak field, discovered in 1979, is one of the world's largest oil and gas condensate fields. Located in north-west Kazakhstan, it holds estimated gross reserves of over 2.4 billion bbls of condensate and more than 16 tcf of gas, potentially recoverable over the 40 year licence period. Production from the field began in 1984.