Croatia’s Geoenergija and KazMunayGas Register Kazakh Oil Exploration Venture

Croatia and Kazakhstan Register Shygys Operating for Aktobe Exploration

Croatia’s state-owned Geoenergija razvoj and Kazakhstan’s national oil company KazMunayGas have registered a joint venture named Shygys Operating to carry out geological exploration on the Shygys area in Kazakhstan’s Aktobe region. The two shareholders each hold a 50 percent stake, but under the agreement the Croatian side bears the entire financial burden of the first and riskiest phase of the project.

The initial work programme covers a 2,400-square-kilometre exploration area and includes extensive seismic surveys along a 500-kilometre corridor, as well as one exploration well to a depth of 3,500 metres. Fieldwork is expected to begin in the coming months.

This is the first entry by Croatian companies into Kazakhstan’s upstream oil and gas sector, a country with some of the world’s largest hydrocarbon reserves. According to media reports, the Adriatic oil pipeline operator Janaf is financing the project with almost €44 million. The venture will be led by Nurlan Konysov, a geologist with long experience at KazMunayGas who previously headed the company’s geology and exploration department.

What the Shygys Venture Means for Geoenergija and Croatia’s Energy Position

Why Croatia Is Paying for the Riskiest Phase

The equal equity split is not matched by equal risk-sharing: the Croatian side carries the full cost of the first exploration phase. That structure suggests Croatia is using state-linked capital to buy exposure to Kazakh upstream potential rather than leaning on KazMunayGas’s balance sheet during the riskiest stage. The reported €44 million Janaf financing places public infrastructure-linked money behind an unproven exploration prospect.

A Modest But Strategic Upstream Test

Kazakhstan is a major hydrocarbons province, but this project remains a frontier geological assessment. A 2,400-square-kilometre block, a 500-kilometre seismic campaign and a single 3,500-metre well are designed to provide a detailed picture of the area’s subsurface and possible oil and gas potential, not immediate production. Exploration success is uncertain, and the well is a decision point rather than a guaranteed commercial outcome.

The Supply Diversification Rationale

For Croatia, the venture is linked to diversifying supply routes and offsetting the natural decline of existing domestic fields. If the exploration delivers a commercial discovery, it could give Croatia new hydrocarbon optionality outside its maturing home base. However, the report points to a geopolitical dimension without specifying any offtake, pipeline or supply agreements that would make such diversification concrete.

Next Moves for the Shygys Exploration Agenda

• For Geoenergija and its state owner: Make the first-phase cost exposure explicit, with milestone triggers tied to the 500-kilometre seismic survey and the 3,500-metre exploration well, before fieldwork expands.
• For Janaf: Link its reported €44 million financing to clear work-programme milestones and future repayment or offtake conditions, since the commitment currently funds exploration rather than proven reserves.
• For Croatian energy planners: Treat Shygys as a data-gathering asset and use the seismic results and well outcome to decide whether to move toward appraisal or withdraw, rather than assuming supply diversification has already been secured.
• For KazMunayGas and potential partners: Watch whether this Croatian-funded first-phase model becomes a template for opening other Kazakh blocks to state-backed exploration capital.