ASTANA, Kazakhstan, November 21. Kazakhstan has ended the third quarter with significant achievements in its energy sector, Trend reports.
Oil and gas
On July 1, Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov announced that the construction of a new gas processing plant with a capacity of 900 million cubic meters in Kazakhstan's Zhanaozen will begin in the autumn.
On July 5, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) resumed the oil intake from shippers at oil pumping stations (OPS) in Kazakhstan after the stabilization of the energy supply. In addition, as Caspian Pipeline Consortium General Director Nikolay Gorban said, CPC plans to pump 18 million tons of oil from the Kashagan field in 2023 and 2024. The Caspian Pipeline Consortium announced that it has already achieved mechanical readiness to pump increased volumes of oil from Kazakhstan.
At the same time, Kazakhstan's oil fleet expands with two new tankers. A ceremony took place in Galati, Romania, marking the acceptance of two new oil tankers, Taraz and Liwa, which have joined the Kazakh maritime fleet.
In addition, Kazakhstan announced plans to ramp up its jet fuel production in the near future to meet the growing demand for aviation fuel.
At the same time, KazMunayGas announced that the national oil and gas company expects to put the Rozhkovskoye oil and gas field into operation by the end of the current year. The potential production volume of this field amounts to 1 billion cubic meters of gas per year. On August 16, KazMunayGas and Russia's Lukoil reached the final stage of an agreement on corporate procedures for the sale of 50 percent of the share of Kalamkas-Khazar Operating LLP in favor of Lukoil. Moreover, KazMunayGas has begun searching for a strategic partner for the joint implementation of the new Bolashak subsoil use project.
A little bit later, Karachaganak Petroleum Operating (KPO) announced its intention to transport 1.2 million tons of oil via the Druzhba pipeline during 2024.
Furthermore, Kazakhstan's KazTransOil increased the volume of Kazakh oil exports to the port of Baku by 12 times from January through August 2023. Thus, the supply of oil in the direction of the Baku port increased from 69,000 tons to 838,000 tons. KazTransOil JSC announced plans to send 1.4 million tons of oil to the Baku International Sea Trade Port.
In addition, Kazakhstan launched the production of its own brand of oil, KEBCO (Kazakhstan Export Blend Crude Oil), on September 11.
On September 13, Deputy Energy Minister of Kazakhstan Askhat Khasenov announced that oil production volumes in Kazakhstan may decrease slightly this year. By the end of the year, it is planned to produce 90.5 million tons of oil.
Moreover, the operator of the North Caspian Sea Project, North Caspian Operating Company N.V. (NCOC), has started construction of a gas pipeline from Bolashak Oil Processing Facility (OPF) to the planned third-party gas processing plant. NCOC has begun construction of the gas pipeline as part of the implementation of its obligations under the project to transfer 1 billion cubic meters of gas per year. The length of the gas pipeline laid from the Bolashak OPF to a third-party gas processing plant will be about 15 km.
Renewable energy
At the beginning of July, it was announced that Kazakhstan intends to significantly increase the utilization of renewable energy sources in its energy balance, aiming to raise the current 4.5 percent to 15 percent by 2030.
At the same time, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced that its technical assistance team is going to conduct a pre-feasibility study aiming to identify Kazakhstan's potential for energy transition mechanism opportunities.
Moreover, Chinese SANY Renewable Energy Co. Ltd. announced that the company plans to build factories for the production of wind turbine blades on the territory of Kazakhstan.
It was announced that twenty-three renewable energy projects with a total capacity of 228.6 MW have been implemented in the Turkestan region of Kazakhstan.
On September 27, KazMunayGas' head, Magzum Mirzagaliyev, held a meeting with Senior Vice President for the Asia-Pacific Region of TotalEnergies E&P Thomas Maurice. At the meeting, a project for the construction of a wind power plant (WPP) with a capacity of 1 GW in the Zhambyl region was discussed.
At the same time, KazMunayGas announced plans to strive to reduce direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent from 2019 emissions levels.
Furthermore, Chinese companies have expressed interest in localizing the production of equipment for solar and wind power plants (SPP and WPP) and electric vehicles in Kazakhstan.
In addition, Chinese company Zhejiang Xingyu Mechanical & Electrical Technology Co., Ltd. expressed interest in building solar and wind power plants in Kazakhstan's Turkestan region.
Nuclear power
It was announced that Kazakhstan has chosen a location for the construction of its first nuclear power plant. Thus, the facility is expected to be constructed in the village of Ulken in the Almaty region.
On September 1, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced that Kazakhstan will submit to a referendum the issue of building a nuclear power plant in the country.
In addition, Kazatomprom, the Kazakh national company, approved the company’s strategy to increase production volumes in 2025 to 100 percent of the level planned under subsoil use contracts. Kazatomprom's production volume in 2025 is therefore expected to be 30,500–31,500 tons of uranium (on a 100 percent basis).
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) specialists provide advisory support to Kazakhstan on the issue of planning the construction of nuclear power plants, including through conducting missions.
Uranium production by Kazakhstan's Kazatomprom (the national nuclear company) amounted to 15,317 tons from January through September 2023, which is 1 percent lower than the same period in 2022 (15,446 tons).
In the third quarter of 2023, production amounted to 5,092 tons. Compared to the third quarter of 2022 (5,377 tons), this figure decreased by 5 percent.
Refineries and plants
The Kazakh government has allocated 8.3 billion Kazakh tenge ($18.7 million) for renovations of the Ridder thermal power plant (TPP).
At the end of the month, Kazakhstan's Atyrau Oil Refinery became the first among major oil refineries to commence production of environmentally friendly RON-92 gasoline (of the local K5 class, equivalent to the Euro-5 standard).
Kazakhstan also announced plans to build two factories. The first factory, a butadiene production facility, will be built in collaboration with a major Russian corporation. The second factory is a $500 million collaborative venture with foreign investors focused on gas processing.
In addition, a memorandum was signed in Kazakhstan's Zhezkazgan on August 16 on the construction of a combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) with a capacity of about 100 MW at the Zhezkazgan CHP station.
At the same time, the Caspi Bitum Aktau bitumen plant announced plans to increase its processing capacity to 1.5 million tons of oil per year by the end of 2024.
Kazakhstan's international cooperation in the energy sector
President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said that Kazakhstan is ready for close cooperation with major energy companies from the Gulf countries.
At the same time, Kazakhstan announced that it would launch the transit of Russian gas to Uzbekistan in October 2023.
In addition, at the beginning of August, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are reviewing possibilities for launching oil transportation via the Baku-Supsa route.
Alim Bayel, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan, said that Kazakhstan plans to increase supplies of Kazakh oil through Azerbaijan. He noted that at the initial stage, oil supplies will amount to 1.5 million tons per year. In the coming years, it is planned to bring them to the level of several million tons per year.
Moreover, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin announced that the country is ready to increase oil supplies to Germany. In turn, Olaf Scholz expressed Germany’s interest in increasing oil deliveries from Kazakhstan.
During meetings held as part of Tokayev's visit to Berlin, Siemens Energy announced its readiness to take part in energy projects in Kazakhstan.
In addition, KazMunayGas and the German Linde Group signed a Memorandum of Cooperation and Understanding during the visit of Tokayev to Germany.
Kazakhstan's national company, QazaqGaz, has signed a new export contract with China.
On September 28, Transneft (a Russian state-controlled oil pipeline company) signed an agreement with Kazakhstan on the transit of Kazakh oil through Russian territory in 2024.
