BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 31. Chairman of the Management Board of Kazakhstan’s national oil and gas company KazMunayGas (KMG) Askhat Khassenov and Chairman of the Board of Directors of CITIC Group Xi Guohua discussed the activities of joint projects and prospects for further cooperation during a meeting in Beijing, KMG reported.
The parties discussed the operations of the Karazhanbasmunai JSC (KBM) joint oil-producing enterprise located in Kazakhstan’s Mangystau region. In the first half of 2026, the company produced 1.018 million tonnes of oil.
One of the key priorities for KBM remains replenishing its resource base. The company is currently developing the Coastal Zone, which has demonstrated positive results and contributed to further field development.
As part of the project, eight appraisal wells and 12 production wells have been drilled. The project increased geological reserves to 12 million tonnes and recoverable reserves to 3 million tonnes. The initial drilling plan for the Coastal Zone included 25 wells; however, following successful results, the number was increased to 48 wells. Additional oil production is expected to reach 50,000 tonnes, compared with the initial target of 21,000 tonnes.
The sides also discussed the modernization of the CASPI BITUM plant in Aktau, implemented within the framework of cooperation between KMG and CITIC Group. Following the upgrade, the plant’s oil processing capacity reached 1.5 million tonnes per year, while road bitumen production capacity increased to 750,000 tonnes annually.
The modernized facility currently supplies the domestic market with high-quality bitumen, helping meet demand amid the expansion of infrastructure projects across Kazakhstan.
"Further implementation of joint initiatives with CITIC Group will contribute to improving the efficiency of existing assets and strengthen strategic cooperation between our companies," the KMG Chairman said.
