BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 24. It is planned to increase the oil processing capacity of Kazakhstan's Atyrau Oil Refinery from 5.5 to 6.7 million tons per year by the end of 2027, said Vice Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan Askhat Khassenov during a meeting with the West Kazakhstan region's population, Trend reports.
As the vice minister noted, additionally, it is planned to expand the existing capacities of the Shymkent Oil Refinery to 12 million tons by 2029. The purpose of these projects is to increase the volume of petroleum products.
In the realm of oil production, the West Kazakhstan region has emerged as the country's third-largest oil-producing region, accounting for a substantial 13.7 percent share of Kazakhstan's total oil production. Moreover, it is planned to further boost oil production in the region to 13.1 million tons by 2029. Also, geological reserves of oil and condensate in the region amount to approximately 1.5 billion tons and 329 million tons, respectively.
Additionally, Khassenov touched upon the matter of providing fuel and lubricants to the population. Kazakhstan is recognized as one of the countries with the lowest fuel prices. The Ministry has recently issued an order to increase the prices of RON-92 and RON-93 gasoline grades to 205 Kazakh tenge ($0.46) and diesel fuel to 295 Kazakh tenge ($0.66) per liter.
Moreover, the country's total diesel fuel reserves have experienced a notable surge from 286,000 to 471,000 tons. The number of fuel stations without diesel fuel has been reduced from 574 to 266, that is, from 18 percent to 8.3 percent (the total number of fuel stations is 3,191).