BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 4. Slovakia sees Kazakhstan as a reliable supplier of energy resources, a source in the Embassy of Slovakia in Kazakhstan told Trend reports.
"Slovakia's largest refinery, Slovnaft (part of the MOL group), buys oil from Kazakhstan. We are interested in predictable supplies from reliable partners," the source said.
As the source noted, from the point of view of diversification of transport routes for supplies, Slovakia, also as part of the EU, supports new alternative transport routes, including the Middle Corridor.
Speaking about the field of renewable energy sources, the source noted that Slovakia was one of the first countries to help Kazakhstan develop solar energy.
"We are also closely following new initiatives, such as the ambitious project by SVEVIND of green hydrogen production in Mangystau, which was presented at the 2nd EU – Central Asia Economic Forum in Almaty in May 2023. The expected output of the plant will be about 20 percent of EU's future green hydrogen imports," the source added.
In 2022, Slovakia's trade volume with Kazakhstan more than doubled compared to the previous year. Slovak exports totaled 87.7 million euros, while imports totaled 78.8 million euros. Slovak exports totaled 52.1 million euros in the first six months of 2023, while imports totaled 12.3 million euros, representing a 280 percent growth in exports over the same period the previous year.
SVEVIND Energy Group will implement a project to produce green hydrogen in the Mangystau region of Kazakhstan. The project involves the construction and operation of a desalination plant, a 40GW renewable energy stations (wind, solar), as well as a 20GW water electrolysis plant with an annual production capacity of 2 million tons of green hydrogen or 11 million tons of green ammonia.
The volume of oil production in 2022 in Kazakhstan amounted to 84.2 million tons, or 101.6 percent of the planned figure. Oil exports in 2022 reached 64.3 million tons, or 103.4 percent of the plan.
By the end of 2022, there are 130 renewable energy facilities operating in the Republic with an installed capacity of 2,400 MW (46 WPPs – 958 MW; 44 SPPs – 1148 MW; 37 HPPs – 280 MW; 3 BioPPs – 1.77 MW).
Last year, 12 renewable energy facilities were commissioned with a total capacity of 385 MW with a total investment of 180 billion tenge (about $374 million). In 2023, 15 facilities with a total capacity of 276 MW will be commissioned.