Nurlan Utebovich Balgimbayev ( kz, Нұрлан Өтепұлы Балғымбаев, ''Nūrlan Ötepūly Balğymbaev''; 20 November 1947 – 14 October 2015) was a Kazakh politician who served as

Prime Minister of Kazakhstan The Prime Minister of Kazakhstan ( Kazakh Cyrillic: Қазақстан Республикасының Премьер-Министрі, Kazakh Latin: Qazaqstan Respublikasynyñ Premier-Ministrı, ; russian: Премьер-Министр Респ ...

from 10 October 1997 to 1 October 1999. He became President of the Kazakhstan Oil Investment Company in 2002.

Biography

Early life and career

Balgimbayev was a graduate of the Kazakh Polytechnic Institute. From 1973 to 1986, Nurlan Balgimbayev worked in the oil industry, beginning as chief engineer of oil refinery Zhaikneft. In 1986, he was hired by the Soviet ministry of oil and gas. With the fall of the Russian block in 1991, Balgimbayev left for the US and studied one year at the

University of Massachusetts The University of Massachusetts is the five-campus public university system and the only public research system in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes five campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, and a medi ...

and made a one-year internship at

Chevron Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to: Science and technology * Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines * Chevron (anatomy), a bone * ''Eulithis testata'', a moth * Chevron (geology), a fold in rock lay ...

(1993-1994).

Political career

Until 1997, he held different minister and vice-minister positions in the Kazakh government. From October 1994 to March 1997, Nurlan Balgimbayev was Minister of Oil and Gas. From March to October 1997, he was the president of KazakhOil (see

Tengizchevroil Tengizchevroil is a joint venture between Chevron (50% share in the consortium), ExxonMobil (25% share), KazMunayGas (20% share) and LukArco (5% share). The joint venture was formed in April 1993, when the government of Kazakhstan granted exclus ...

Prime Minister of Kazakhstan (1997–1999)

On 10 October 1997, he was named

and remained in office up until 1 October 1999. The choice for Balgimbayev was motivated by the following factors: the former Prime minister

Akezhan Kazhegeldin Akejan Kajegeldin ( kz, Әкежан Мағжанұлы Қажыгелдин, ''Äkejan Mağjanūly Qajygeldin''; born 27 March 1952) is a Kazakh politician who served as the 2nd Prime Minister of Kazakhstan from 12 October 1994 until his resign ...

was privatizing the oil and gas sector too fast and loose, Balgimbayev was already in talks with Russians for a major Caspian pipeline, and he was an IMF-sceptic like the President Nazarbayev. Balgimbayev's plan was also to increase the production of Kazakh oil from 23 million tons to 170 million annually. In 1998, he favored the sale of 40% of Tengiz oilfields to Chevron.

Post-Premiership

After his tenure as PM, he continued his career as President at state-owned KazakhOil from 1999 to 2002. Lyazzat Kiyinov replaced him after the

merger Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...

between KazakhOil and Transport Nefti i Gaza companies into the new

KazMunayGas KazMunayGas (KMG) ( kk, QazMúnayGaz, ҚазМұнайГаз) is the state-owned oil and gas company of Kazakhstan.

. In December 2007, he was appointed adviser to the President. From 2002 to 2007, he managed his own company, the Kazakhstan Oil Investment Company. Since December 2009, Nurlan Balgimbayev had been the director general of a joint venture between KMG and

Eni Eni S.p.A. () is an Italian multinational energy company headquartered in Rome. Considered one of the seven " supermajor" oil companies in the world, it has operations in 69 countries with a market capitalization of US$54.08 billion, as of 11 ...

Death

On 14 October 2015, Balgimbayev died of cancer in

Atyrau Atyrau ( kk, Атырау, ', ; russian: Атырау, ), known until 1991 as Guryev (russian: Гурьев, ), is a city in Kazakhstan and the capital of Atyrau Region. Atyrau is a transcontinental city, at the mouth of the Ural River on the Cas ...

at the age of 68.

Controversies

In 2003, the US justice linked Nurlan Balgimbayev to a $78 million bribe from US oil consultant James Giffen. Nurlan Balgimbayev was also involved in a bribery case led by oil-industry fixer Friedhelm Eronat. Coined as the

Kazakhgate Kаzаkhgаtе refers to the scandal surrounding James Giffen, an American businessman and former advisor of Kazakhstan president Nursultan Nazarbayev. Charges US prosecutors accused Giffen of bribery paid to Nazarbayev and Nurlan Balgimbayev, ...

, the case implied the use of bribe money for luxury items and premium education fees in Switzerland.

References

External links

AllBusiness Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balgimbayev, Nurlan Prime Ministers of Kazakhstan Oil and gas ministers of Kazakhstan 2015 deaths 1947 births Deaths from cancer in Kazakhstan People from Atyrau