Turkey monitors clash between Turkish, Kazakh workers in Kazakhstan

Turkey has been monitoring the "saddening events" between Turkish and Kazakh workers in Kazakhstan, and the Turkish Embassy in Almaty has launched necessary initiatives, Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday. "We have been closely monitoring the saddening events between Turkish and Kazakh workers at the Tengiz Chevron oil field in western Kazakhstan," the statement said.

"The Turkish Embassy in Almaty has held talks with the Kazakh authorities, and asked them to tighten security measures in the oil field," it said.

About 140 people were injured in a clash between ethnic Kazakh and Turkish workers at an oil field in western Kazakhstan on Friday, and nine Turkish citizens, who were injured in the clash, were brought back to Turkey for treatment.

The fighting began at a restaurant at the Tengiz oil field, when a Kazakh worker tried to jump queue and get before Turkish employees.

Tengiz oil field, one of the world's largest, has been developed since 1993 by a consortium, which includes U.S. majors Chevron, Exxon Mobil and the Kazakh state owned energy company Kazmunaigaz. Its recoverable reserves are estimated at 1.3 billion tons of oil.

The expansion program was launched to raise production at the oil field from its current 300,000 barrels per day to 460,000-550, 000 barrels per day by the third quarter of 2007.

Source: Xinhua