Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 12
Trend:
The Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan Kanat Bozumbayev has confirmed that it is critical for Kazakhstan to start exporting gasoline in October-November in order to prevent overstocking of the market, RIA Novosti reported.
Earlier, Daniyar Tiesov, deputy chairman of the board for oil processing and marketing of KazMunayGas national company, said Kazakhstan intends to start supplying gasoline to Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan this autumn. He noted that it has been planned to export up to 400,000 tons of gasoline until the end of the year, and the volume of gasoline exports can reach 1-1.2 million tons in 2019.
The minister said the launch of gasoline exports requires revision of some agreements with Russia. He reminded that Kazakhstan previously imported gasoline from Russia without customs duties.
"In exchange for this we have made a commitment to the Russian Federation that we will not export gasoline, so that we wouldn’t be engaged in re-export," the minister said at a press conference.
The minister of energy noted that today there is a surplus of gasoline in the country, which led to a decrease in prices for it.
"After the modernization of the refineries, which is almost completed, the catalytic cracking unit is being put into operation (I think, this work will be completed until the end of the month, if everything goes well) at the Shymkent refinery... We will increase the production of light oil products. Accordingly, there will be much more gasoline. Therefore, it is critically important to start exporting gasoline in October-November, or we will simply have to stop this catalytic cracking unit again," Bozumbayev said.
He noted that Kazakhstan is working with Russia in this direction.
"The draft new agreement between the Ministry of Energy of Russia and the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan is being considered by the Government of the Russian Federation. As soon as the Government of the Russian Federation authorizes my colleague Alexander Novak to sign the agreement - we hope that this will happen in the next few weeks, I have already been authorized a month and a half ago by the relevant resolution of the Kazakh government - I will go to Moscow, or he will come, or we will meet somewhere and will sign the relevant agreement," the minister said.
Bozumbayev added that Kazakhstan intends to conclude agreements with the countries to which it will supply gasoline, and the joint balances will be specified in those agreements.