05 May 2025, 13:45
The Minister of Energy Yerlan Akkenzhenov reported on the current situation and prospects for the development of the oil and gas chemical industry at the meeting of the Government. He emphasised that this area is one of the priorities in reorienting the oil and gas sector from the raw materials model to the production of high value-added products.
The Minister noted that the Head of State has repeatedly pointed out the strategic importance of the development of oil and gas chemistry, as it opens up significant prospects both in the domestic and foreign markets.
According to the Minister, despite the fact that Kazakhstan is among the largest oil and gas producers in the Eurasian region, the structure of the industry remains predominantly raw materials, with an emphasis on exploration and production. At the same time, the potential of refining, especially in oil and gas chemistry, is only partially utilised, which creates a number of strategic challenges.
In this regard, in October 2024, the Ministry of Energy developed a Roadmap for the development of the oil and gas chemical industry for 2024-2030. The document includes 6 key areas and 34 measures aimed at stimulating the industry, including the implementation of 6 major investment projects worth about $15bn. According to the Minister's estimates, the implementation of these projects will create about 3,500 permanent jobs and more than 16,000 temporary jobs during the construction phase.
The Minister also said that at the end of 2024, the volume of oil and gas chemical production was 540 thousand tonnes, which is 150.5% of the level of 2023 (358.6 thousand tonnes). The plan for the current year is 550 thousand tonnes. For January-March 2025, 155.6 thousand tonnes of products were produced against the plan of 113.4 thousand tonnes, which is 137% of the planned volume.
He clarified that the current production plan did not include paraxylene. However, since 17 March 2025, the Atyrau Refinery has launched a unit for its production. During March-April, 33.8 thousand tonnes of paraxylene were produced.
The Minister also drew attention to the legislative support of the industry. According to him, the department together with NC KazMunayGas JSC, associations KazEnergy and producers and consumers of oil and gas chemical products, as well as other government agencies are working on the draft law "On Oil and Gas Chemical Industry". The draft law is aimed at creating a transparent and effective legal framework, including equal access of enterprises to raw materials, infrastructure development and state support measures - financing, subsidies and tax incentives.
At the moment, the Consultative Document on this project has been sent to the members of the Interdepartmental Commission for approval. In this regard, Yerlan Akkenzhenov asked to instruct the Ministry of Justice to bring the project to the next meeting of the Commission and include it in the Plan of legislative works of the Government for 2025.
The Minister recalled that back in 2007, a special economic zone (SEZ) was created for the development of oil and gas chemistry. Its area is 3,615 hectares and includes three sites: Karabatan, Tengiz and Technopark.
At the Karabatan site, access roads, a railway station, a 310 MW combined cycle power plant, as well as water treatment facilities and general plant infrastructure have already been built.
To date, 18 participants have registered in the FEZ, including major projects for the production of polypropylene, polyethylene, synthetic rubber and butadiene, as well as enterprises for the production of plastic products and geosynthetic materials. The Technopark site is aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises producing products based on petrochemical raw materials. The Tengiz site is intended for gas separation complex, which should provide the polyethylene project with ethane - 1.6 million tonnes per year.
The minister said that in November 2022, the KPI polypropylene plant with a capacity of 500,000 tonnes per year was launched. At the end of 2024, the plant produced about 250,000 tonnes. Currently, 12 grades of polypropylene are produced for the production of packaging, carpets, tableware, etc. Two new grades are planned to be produced by the end of this year.
Construction of a polyethylene plant with a capacity of 1.25 million tonnes per year is also underway. As of today, early construction work is 49.2% complete, and excavation work for the pyrolysis unit has begun. The start-up is scheduled for 2029. It is planned to produce more than 20 grades of polyethylene, 40 per cent of which will be in the premium segment.
The minister added that the following projects are being worked on in the industry:
These projects are at various stages from the development of basic project documentation to working out financing mechanisms.
#Economy #Government session #Industry #Oil & Gas
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