Customers and winners Totally, from September 2014 through December 2015, corporate drilling service customers submitted 128 requests for over KZT 24,208 mln (hereinafter, the prices specified do not include VAT – editor’s note). As a result, the tender holders procured goods, work and services for over KZT 14, 411 mln. In our review we used 4 main types of drilling services. The most demanded one is conventional core drilling. The share of such drilling services procured at the tenders amounted to 81%. The rest is shared by RC-drilling – 9%, air percussion drilling – 8%, and hydraulic drilling – 2% (please, see Diagram 1). As for tender holders, then, five most active ones can be distinguished, that declared the highest value of the goods, work and services to be procured (please, see Diagram 2). At these tenders, the lowest price declared was over KZT 773 mln, while the highest one was KZT 1,130 mln.
At the same time, the winning price ranges from KZT 570 mln to KZT 873,600 thousand. It should be noted that while two customers, Kazakhmys Corporation LLP and Kazakhaltyn MMC JSC procured drilling services almost at the prices declared, in the other three cases, the difference between the starting and final amounts was on average equal to 25.68%. The winners of the highest volume procurements at the tenders were Interrin NPP, Yug Nedra Service, Styx GRK, Arkhei-2006, and AK-NIET BURGA. Quotation In general, during the period being reviewed, the highest declared price per a running meter for core drilling amounted to KZT 33,280, while the highest winning price amounted to KZT 25,731.9. The lowest declared price amounted to KZT 17,705, while the lowest winning price amounted to KZT 15,553 per a running meter. We will note that these service prices vary depending on the drilling diameter used (AQ, HQ, HQ3, NQ, PQ).
The average price range of the declared and winning prices for RC-drilling during the same period fluctuated from KZT 6,260 to KZT 5,654 per a running meter. The highest and lowest declared prices amounted to KZT 9,834 and KZT 3,122, while the highest and lowest winning prices amounted to KZT 9,834 and KZT 3,065, respectively. That said, as seen from Diagram 3, the biggest difference between the declared and final prices amounted to 26.36% (for a work scope of 100 thousand running meters). On average in the market, the general condition prices ranged from KZT 5,000 to KZT 6,000, however, at the special condition tenders, where many cost items were not included in the drilling costs, the prices ranged from KZT 3,000 to KZT 3,122. In the procurement of air percussion drilling services, a large difference between the highest and lowest prices was observed. For example, the lowest winning price per a running meter amounted to KZT 3,000, while the highest price amounted to KZT 15,000 (please, see Diagram 4).
The starting prices for drilling and blasting operations ranged from KZT 175 to KZT 1,617 per a cubic meter. At the same time, the average price amounted to KZT 392 (declared price) and KZT 322 (winning price). That said, at the tenders held in the second half-year, the lowest declared price grew and amounted to KZT 229. The prices of the least demanded hydraulic drilling services ranged widely from KZT 1,600 to KZT 36,000 per a running meter, which is caused by the specific nature of local soils at individual deposits. It should be noted that there was a general pricing trend in the second halfyear of 2015. Judging by primary data, the starting point for the changes was the 20% devaluation of Kazakhstan tenge. For example, the tenders held after August 20, 2015, showed the growth of drilling service prices, especially, in the core drilling and RC drilling sectors (please, see Diagrams 5 and 6). A focus on price growth can be clearly seen in changes in the conditions of tenders held by one and the same tender holder for similar goods, work and services before and after the August devaluation. In particular, one of key market players, KAZ Minerals Bozshakol, procured RC drilling services in April and December 2015. That said, while in the first case, the declared price per a running meters amounted to KZT 6,799, in the second case, the price amounted to KZT 9,834. Thus, the review carried out allows to conclude that general trends in national economy are reflected in all industries, and geological exploration sector is not an exception.