On November 10, the meeting began with the presentation of books donated to the Kazakh-British Technical University by academician, laureate of state awards of the Republic of Kazakhstan, discoverer of the Kashagan field Baltabek Kuandykov. The author donated the books “Shale Oil in Kazakhstan” and “Keys of the Caspian Shelf” to the university library for professors and students.
Kuandyk Baltabek, Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences, Honored Worker of Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan:
“Nowadays shale oil occupies a leading place in the oil and gas industry all over the world. Of the total oil production in the United States, 70% is shale oil. The task was set to find out whether this type of oil exists in our country. Our geologists and scientists began to study the possibilities of Kazakhstan. This year, an addition was made to the Code on Subsoil and Subsoil Use on the concept of “shale oil”. Based on the results of the conference, which took place this year in Shymkent, the most interesting reports were formatted as articles and included in a book. The book will be of interest to students who study the characteristics of oil in Kazakhstan. The second book tells the story of the creation of the Kashagan consortium from the very beginning to the present day.”
The rector of the Kazakh-British Technical University presented a report on the activities of the university, innovations and projects. Maratbek Gabdullin reminded the meeting participants about the international accreditations of KBTU, spoke about joint work with international organizations, universities in Kazakhstan and around the world, as well as about the events held at the university site to strengthen cooperation with other countries.
“We have achieved 20% of the total budget through research and development in all areas. We participate in grant funding, targeted funding programs, and R&D. We publish 127 articles per year in international scientific journals. In April next year we are planning to open our own testing site at the SEZ PIT Alatau. We are already conducting tests and want to create a digital field, the VR laboratory of which will be located at KBTU and we will be able to monitor and study various production methods.” KBTU continues to conduct research work together with Samruk-Kazyna, Honeywell, World Bank, UNDP, Kazatomprom, KAZENERGY, JSC NC KazMunayGas and others.
Dean of the School of Energy and Petroleum Industry Abdulakhat Ismailov said on the creation of a university hub at the WPC, new educational programs and projects: “The idea of creating a hub was voiced during the VII Youth Forum of the World Petroleum Council, held at KBTU in 2022. On September 18, 2023, at the 24th WPC Forum in Calgary (Canada), our university presented the hub, its goals, and mission. This day is considered the hub’s birthdate. Firstly, the Hub will play the role of a bridge between young specialists and production (adaptation in production). In this regard, seminars and guest lectures are held between WPC universities. The next thing is new educational programs. We recently uploaded data for a master's program on the energy transition in the petroleum industry and are working on launching a Doctor of Engineering program. According to these programs, we will train highly qualified personnel together with Robert Gordon University. There will be two academic degrees: “PHD in the petroleum industry” - this is in Kazakhstan - and “Doctor of Engineering” from Robert Gordon University.”
Azamat Muratov spoke about the local “silicon valley” - AlmaValley :
“We started work in February of this year...One of the projects that the developers are working on is Safety Academy. As part of the project, we conducted an analysis among five or six universities, interviewing students and professors. As it turns out, no one knows about safety precautions. Based on this, we began to prepare courses, brochures, and video courses. With the help of artificial intelligence, they introduced a Kazakhstani analogue of brochures and began conducting courses on ST. Also this year, we launched ICT courses, which were completed by 1,200 people. In this course, the content and avatars are generated entirely by artificial intelligence,” Azamat emphasized that almost every AlmaValley project uses and applies artificial intelligence.
The developments of JSC Bekturov Institute of Chemical Sciences for subjects of the real sector of the economy in the direction of resource-saving and green technologies were presented by Khaidar Tasibekov, General Director of JSC Bekturov Institute of Chemical Sciences:
“According to the results of a competition throughout the country, among 104 participants, our Institute was recognized as the best innovative company in the scientific and technical direction as its main activity. Let us note the projects that are being implemented and are ready for implementation: preparation for disposal of waste from oil production and oil refining using chemical methods; processing and disposal of radioactive waste; heavy oil refining. For 2023-2025, we won a large program of targeted funding in all areas. Moreover, we want to further develop radiochemistry and CPS.”
What domestic developments for achieving sustainable environmental development are there at the JSC Sokolsky Institute of Fuel, Catalysis and Electrochemistry" A. Abilmagzhanov, First Deputy General Director, explained the meeting to the participants. The main projects are related to the following areas: CO2 utilization, gas neutralization and corrosion control.
“ With our technologies (CO2 recycling) we solve two problems: we renew the depletion of traditional sources and reduce CO2 emissions. The goal of the project was to create a technology that would be used both for CO2 utilization and for producing synthetic hydrocarbons as output. Preliminary calculations showed that with an oil price of $80, the income from our technologies is about $240,000, due to the sale of synthetic hydrocarbons and additional income. The second development of our institute solves the problem of flue gas emissions. This catalytic catalysts for harmful gas compounds. The institute operates a workshop for the production of catalysts, which have successfully passed industrial tests. As for automobile catalysts, we have been implementing them for the last 10 years. The price of our catalysts is significantly lower than that of manufacturers - from 160,000 tenge, while for manufacturers it is from 600,000 tenge.” Also, on the basis of the institute, a competence center for combating corrosion will be created with the support of JSC NC Kazmunaigas in order to reduce the level of premature wear, increase the repair mileage, and reduce the cost of equipment repairs.
At the end of the discussions, the Chairman of the Board of KBTU JSC, Maratbek Gabdullin , emphasized that “KBTU gathers everyone on this site to show everything that the university has, and all the ideas that are proposed at the Advisory Board are implemented in the activities of the university.” By decision of the 11th meeting of the Advisory Board, it was decided: to prepare and send to the companies and founders an Advisory Board consultant from KBTU on possible issues of cooperation in the field of technological R&D research.
