...

Kazakhstan's refusal to import gasoline from Russia not to be long-term (Exclusive)

Commentary Materials 11 June 2018 12:41 (UTC +04:00)
Kazakhstan's refusal to import gasoline from Russia will not last long for a number of reasons, including the growing domestic fuel market
Kazakhstan's refusal to import gasoline from Russia not to be long-term (Exclusive)

Baku, Azerbaijan, June 11

By Ali Mustafayev – Trend:

Kazakhstan's refusal to import gasoline from Russia will not last long for a number of reasons, including the growing domestic fuel market, Chief Researcher of the Institute of Economics of Kazakhstan, Consultant of the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan,expert Oleg Yegorov told Trend.

"Kazakhstan buys about one million tons of gasoline per year from Russia to meet the domestic market demand. The ban on the import of gasoline from Russia can not last long, at least for the reason that the oil refineries of Kazakhstan do not receive sufficient volumes of Kazakh oil for the production of gasoline. The share of KazMunayGas (KMG) national company, which supplies crude oil to the oil refineries, accounts for only 28 percent of the total oil produced in the country," Yegorov said.

He also noted that one of the three largest oil refineries in Kazakhstan - Pavlodar Oil and Chemistry Refinery (POCR) - is fully provided only with Russian oil.

Speaking about alternatives of gasoline imports, Yegorov emphasized that it is also disadvantageous for Kazakhstan to buy petroleum products in Europe because of the large distance.

"In the long term, the domestic fuel market of Kazakhstan will expand, and the construction of the fourth oil refinery may be delayed, which makes the import of gasoline from Russia one of the most attractive options in this situation, even despite the jump in prices for Russian fuel," Yegorov said.

The authorities of Kazakhstan proposed to ban the import of gasoline from Russia by rail for three months. The order of the Minister of Energy Kanat Bozumbayev was published on the portal of e-government of Kazakhstan.

In April, Bozumbayev also spoke about the likely cheapening of gasoline in the country due to the excess fuel.

Follow the author on Twitter: @Ali_Mustafayev_

Tags:
Latest

Latest