BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 7
Trend:
The Kazakh Ministry of Energy will make the necessary changes to the rules for organizing trading in liquefied gas as soon as possible, Kazakh Minister of Energy Magzum Mirzagaliev said, Trend reports on Jan. 7.
Mirzagaliev said that as of today the remaining total gasoline and diesel fuel are sufficient for 20 days.
An order was adopted on January 6, 2022, to fulfill the President’s instructions, in accordance with which the following maximum allowed prices for oil products were set:
1) RON-80 gasoline - 89 tenge ($0.20) per liter;
2) RON -92 gasoline - 182 tenge ($0.42) per liter;
3) RON -93 gasoline - 182 tenge ($0.42) per liter;
4) RON -95 gasoline - 215 tenge ($0.49) per liter;
5) diesel fuel (summer, off-season): 260 tenge ($0.60) per liter in Akmola, Aktobe, East Kazakhstan, West Kazakhstan, Kostanay, North Kazakhstan regions; 230 tenge ($0.53) per liter in Nur-Sultan, Almaty, Shymkent, Almaty, Atyrau, Zhambyl, Karaganda, Kyzylorda, Pavlodar, Turkistan, South Kazakhstan regions.
"If filling stations sell fuels, lubricants, and liquefied gas at prices higher than the set ones, the Agency of the Republic Kazakhstan for Competition Protection (Antimonopoly agency) will check the cases of unreasonable price increases," the minister said.
Kazakhstan's government announced late Jan. 4 that it was restoring some price caps on liquefied petroleum gas, after the rare protests reached Almaty following a sharp rise in the price of the fuel at the start of the year.
Many Kazakhs have converted their cars to run on LPG, which is far cheaper than gasoline as a vehicle fuel in Kazakhstan because of price caps. But the government argued that the low price was unsustainable and lifted the caps on Jan. 1.
After the price of the fuel spiked, big demonstrations erupted on Jan. 2 in certain parts of the country. Public protests are illegal in the country unless their organizers file a notice in advance.
Following the development of the situation, the government declared a state of emergency all over the country. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said the government initiated anti-terrorist operations to deal with the ongoing riots.
Also, the divisions of the united peacekeeping contingent of CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) arrived in Kazakhstan to assist in restoring order and help protect strategic objects of the country.