ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 11. Kazakhstan's oil refining sector is demonstrating positive dynamics and can increase its share of contribution to the country's GDP, said Minister of Kazakhstan’s National Economy Serik Zhumangarin during a meeting of the Economic Growth Headquarters, Trend reports.
Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin held a meeting of the Economic Growth Headquarters dedicated to the potential of the oil and gas industry this year and the investment-economic development of the Mangistau region. He noted that, with an actual GDP growth of 4.8 percent in 2024, the target for 2025 is 7 percent. This is a very high, yet achievable target, provided the timely implementation of investment projects in the real economy sector.
According to Vice Minister of Energy Erlan Akkenzhenov, oil refining in January amounted to 1.53 million tons, or 104 percent compared to January last year. This figure exceeds the plan for the first month of 2025 by 0.6 percent.
It was noted that after the completion of the CaspiBitum LLP expansion project, expected in late May 2025, its refining capacity will increase from 1 million tons to 1.5 million tons. As a result, the total refining capacity in Kazakhstan will grow from 18 million tons to 18.5 million tons by 2026.
The Deputy Prime Minister addressed concerns regarding the load
of large refineries and mini oil refineries.
"In the absence of serious external factors, the oil refining
industry has a good chance to increase its share of GDP
contribution this year," emphasized Serik Zhumangarin.
The components of the targeted physical growth index for the Mangistau region were also discussed separately. With a growth target of 7 percent for this year, the performance indicators for agriculture and fishing (87.5 percent against a target of 101 percent) and trade (102 percent instead of the targeted 105.4 percent) in January were noted as low. The Deputy Prime Minister instructed to ensure the fulfillment of the set plans in the coming months. Given the significant share of trade in the country's GDP (19 percent in 2024), one of the upcoming headquarters meetings will focus on trade, transport, and warehousing.
The meeting also discussed and analyzed the reasons for the low utilization of funds for budgetary investment projects in the region. The Deputy Prime Minister instructed to review all projects requiring urgent funding through the lens of their impact on increasing the contribution to the real economy sector.
Overall, the share of oil refining in the structure of Kazakhstan's GDP is less than 1 percent (0.8 percent for 2023 and 0.6 percent for the first nine months of 2024).