Formerly known as Hurricane Hydrocarbons Ltd. the company was founded in 1981 and initially operated in Western Canada. It changed to a more international focus and grew after making several major oil and gas finds in Southern Kazakhstan, in 1991 becoming a partner in a JV to develop the Kyzylkiya, Aryskum, Maibulak and South Kumkol fields. In 1996 it purchased Yuzhneftegaz from the Kazakh government, making it one of the largest players in the country. However the company ran into severe problems in the late 1990s. All the company's oil went through refineries owned by Central Asian Industrial Holdings N.V., a Dutch-registered offshore affiliate of Kazkommertsbank Kazakhstan's leading banking group, which used their monopoly to charge high prices. At the same time oil prices plunged. In 1999 the company was forced into receivership and almost broken up. The company was saved by Bernard Isautier, a board member who had long been involved in the Canadianoil industry and in Central Asia. He became CEO and negotiated a merger with Central Asian Industrial Holdings N.V. From mid-October 1999 to 2000 Hurricane acquired 88.4% of OJSC Shymkentnefteorgsintez which owns the 160,000 bpdShymkent Oil Refinery, the most modern of the country's three refineries. In doing so Isautier put 30% of Hurricane's stock in CAIH's hands. This eventually made the investors in both companies very wealthy, especially Isautier who had demanded no salary and was at first only paid in stock options. The rapid increase in the stock's value made Isautier by far the most generously compensated executive in Canada in 2004.
Renamed PetroKazakhstan
In 2003 Hurricane was renamed PetroKazakhstan to reflect that its entire operations are in that country. In the following years Hurricane/PetroKazakhstan saw considerable conflict with the government of Kazakhstan, including a fine for anti-competitive behaviour and protests of its environmental and labour record reportedly organized by government agents. In June 2005 PetroKazakhstan announced that it had been approached for a possible takeover or merger, sending stock prices up significantly. The most frequently mentioned possible suitor was a branch of India's ONGC. The stock quickly fell back down when the government of Kazakhstan announced that it would demand the right to acquire PetroKazakhstan prior to any merger, in part because India would have to export their oil through Russia, thus increasing Kazakhstan’s dependence on Russia.
CNPC and PetroChina
On 21 August 2005China National Petroleum Corporation, agreed to buy the company for US$4.18 billion via CNPC International Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of China National Oil & Gas Exploration and Development Corp.. This made the PetroKazakhstan deal the largest overseas acquisition by a Chinese company. PetroKazakhstan was delisted in Kazakhstan, Toronto, New York, London and Frankfurt Stock Exchanges. As part of the deal with CNPC, on 15 October 2005, according to the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan On Subsoil Use, CNPC agreed to sell back 33% of the shares of PetroKazakhstan Inc. to KazMunaiGas thereby allowing the Kazakh government to regain an equal share of the nation's most modern oil refinery. In 2006 CNPC transferred its remaining 67% of shares to China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Company, a 50/50 joint venture with its own listed subsidiary PetroChina, who currently manage and operate the company.
