BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 7. Kazakhstan will approve a list of oil and gas equipment to be procured exclusively from domestic manufacturers, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov said during a government meeting, according to the Kazakh government's press service.
"The state is allocating substantial funds for the implementation of major infrastructure projects in the sector. It is important to provide domestic manufacturers with guaranteed orders. Therefore, I instruct the Ministries of Industry and Energy, jointly with Samruk-Kazyna, to approve within one month a nomenclature of oil and gas equipment that will be procured exclusively from Kazakh manufacturers," Bektenov said.
The prime minister also called for revising the approach to supplying commercial gas to new industrial projects. He stressed that decisions on access to gas resources should take into account the energy efficiency of projects and their contribution to the country's technological development.
"Given the steadily growing domestic demand, the available gas volumes must be directed primarily to the needs of the population and the development of high-tech industries. Within one month, the Ministry of Energy, together with regional administrations, must develop energy efficiency criteria for new production facilities seeking access to commercial gas. The practice of allocating gas resources to energy-intensive and low-efficiency industries must be discontinued," Bektenov said.
Additionally, the prime minister instructed the government to prepare proposals for a new tariff policy in the gas sector aimed at ensuring its long-term sustainability while maintaining targeted support for the population.
"The current pricing model in the gas sector should not hinder its development. In this regard, I instruct the Ministry of National Economy, jointly with the Ministry of Energy and the Agency for Protection and Development of Competition, to submit within two months proposals to the Government on a new incentive-based tariff policy while preserving fair targeted support for the population," Bektenov said.
