Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov held a meeting to review progress on implementing the instructions of Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev regarding the modernization of existing refineries and the construction of a new fourth oil refinery, which were delivered at an expanded Government session.

Askhat Khasenov, Chairman of the Board of JSC NC KazMunayGas, reported on the current status and timelines for expanding existing oil refineries. The capacity of the Shymkent Refinery is planned to increase from 6 million to 12 million tons of oil per year by 2030, and the Pavlodar Petrochemical Plant from 6 million to 9 million tons by 2031. An efficiency enhancement project is underway at the Atyrau Refinery, scheduled for completion in 2027, which will increase capacity from 5.5 million to 6.1 million tons.

In addition, as part of the Shymkent Refinery modernization, plans include expanding the throughput capacity of the Kenkiyak–Atyrau and Kenkiyak–Kumkol trunk oil pipelines and the Tekesu station, as well as constructing the Shymkent–Almaty petroleum product pipeline with a capacity of up to 3.5 million tons per year.

Overall, the implementation of expansion projects across the three operating refineries will raise their total combined capacity from 17.5 million to 28.8 million tons per year.

Deputy Minister of Energy Kayirkhan Tutkysbayev reported on the study concerning the construction of the fourth oil refinery. According to the Ministry of Energy, in the long term, the country's demand for oil refining capacity could reach approximately 40 million tons per year.

The Prime Minister instructed that a comprehensive assessment be completed and final decisions made by the end of this year regarding the construction of the fourth refinery, including determining its optimal capacity, configuration, feedstock base, location, and economic model.

Participants at the meeting received a number of instructions to build up the industry's production capacity to meet domestic market needs over the medium and long term. Responsible state bodies and interested organizations were instructed to keep oil refining capacity expansion projects under constant review, prevent delays, and ensure the timely commissioning of facilities. Special emphasis was placed on further deepening oil refining in light of growing domestic demand for petroleum products.

"Increasing oil refining capacities is directly linked to the attractiveness of fuel prices on the domestic market. In the current situation, where petrol and diesel prices in Kazakhstan are twice as low as those of our neighbors, investing in oil refining is economically unviable. Therefore, we must actively continue market liberalization. This is a matter of economic security," Olzhas Bektenov emphasized.

#Olzhas Bektenov #The Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan #Energy #Oil & Gas

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