ASTANA, Kazakhstan, July 19. Condor Energies Inc., a Canadian-based energy transition company focused on providing stable and sustainable energy transition solutions, will build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) production plant in Kazakhstan, Trend reports.
A Corresponding LNG Framework Agreement for the utilization of liquefied natural gas to fuel Kazakhstan’s rail locomotives was signed between Condor, Kazakhstan Railways, a national company, and Wabtec Corporation, a US-based locomotive manufacturer with existing facilities in Kazakhstan.
Condor has already completed front-end engineering for its first modular LNG facility, and detailed engineering will commence shortly. The company’s LNG facilities will utilize leading-edge technology developed by the US Department of Energy and commercialized by Condor’s LNG partner in the US.
The first facility will be constructed near Aktobe, Kazakhstan, and produce 120,000 metric tons of LNG annually, which is the energy equivalent volume of 450,000 liters of diesel per day. Phase 1 of the first facility is currently scheduled to commence LNG production in mid-2026, for which a stable feed gas supply has already been secured. The company is also advancing project funding alternatives.
Displacing diesel with LNG as the fuel in locomotives is expected to reduce costs and increase the speed of railing freight across Kazakhstan by increasing operating ranges, reducing transit times, and lowering fuel and maintenance costs. It will also materially reduce greenhouse gas emissions in support of the Government of Kazakhstan’s target to be carbon-neutral by 2060.
Meanwhile, KTZ and Wabtec previously signed a memorandum of understanding, which includes modernization work to retrofit KTZ’s mainline locomotive fleet for LNG usage and incorporate LNG into new locomotives.