Baku, Azerbaijan, March 7
By Ali Mustafayev – Trend:
Kazakhstan will continue to buy oil products, including gasoline and diesel fuel, from Russia, despite earlier announced forecasts regarding the expansion of local production and further covering the domestic demand.
In particular, the forecasts indicated that the modernization of all three existing oil refineries - Shymkent, Atyrau and Pavlodar - will allow Kazakhstan to significantly reduce dependence on imports of Russian oil products, and even increase their own exports. However, the current output of oil products at Kazakhstan's refineries is insufficient to cover the demand of the domestic market, and as a result, the need to import Russian oil products has not lost its relevance.
"In accordance with the Treaty on Eurasian Economic Cooperation, ratified by the Law of Kazakhstan on October 14, 2014, oil and oil products remain seized [cannot be exported to countries beyond the Eurasian Economic Union] until January 1, 2025, and trade and economic cooperation on oil and oil products is regulated by separate bilateral agreements between the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union," a source in the Kazakh Energy Ministry told Trend.
In other words, Kazakhstan and Russia will continue cooperation in export/import of oil products until the member states of the EEU sign a new international agreement on establishment of common markets for oil and oil products of the Eurasian Economic Union, which will enter into force no later than January 1, 2025.
In accordance with bilateral agreements on oil and oil products supply between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation, volumes of import/export of oil and oil products are drawn up and approved annually, Trend was told.
The source added that the volumes of deliveries of oil products are also determined by separate agreements between Russia and Kazakhstan, being regularly updated.