It is highly likely that China will build: Kazakhstan, possessing three major oil fields—Tengiz, Kashagan, and Karachaganak—will construct a fourth large-scale refinery with an annual processing capacity of 10 million tons.
From Kazakh International News Agency: The Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan announced that the country has initiated preliminary technical and economic feasibility studies for the fourth large-scale refinery project. According to planning, the refinery’s annual refining capacity could reach up to 10 million tons.
On May 20, the Kazakh government held a special meeting in Astana to discuss the construction of the large-scale refinery project. The meeting was chaired by Energy Minister Yerlan Akkendzhayev, with representatives from relevant government departments and stakeholders attending. The Ministry of Energy will take charge of overall project coordination.
According to plans, this complex is expected to develop into the core of a petrochemical industrial cluster in the future. The project owner is SK Ondeu Company, which belongs to the "Samruk-Kazyna" National Fund.
The Ministry of Energy stated that an international engineering team will complete the comprehensive pre-project study within six months and submit relevant proposal recommendations to the government.
It is reported that the project will focus on studying the feasibility of processing crude oil from the Kashagan and Tengiz fields, while also assessing options for transporting raw materials via existing pipeline infrastructure through blending.
Currently, the specific construction site for the fourth large-scale refinery has not been finalized. However, site selection has become one of the key discussion topics during this week's meeting.
It is noted that experts will comprehensively evaluate factors such as transportation logistics conditions, railway infrastructure access capabilities, distance to product markets, ecological and environmental requirements, and engineering communication facilities.
Energy Minister Akkendzhayev stated that this project is a crucial strategic move to ensure Kazakhstan’s long-term energy independence. He emphasized that all decisions regarding project location and overall configuration will be based on economic and technical assessments.
At present, Kazakhstan’s largest refinery is located in Chimkent, with an annual processing capacity of approximately 6 million tons. Meanwhile, the government is planning to expand the Chimkent Refinery (renovated and expanded by China – editor’s note) to increase its capacity to 12 million tons.
[Translated by Muhetar Mularati]
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1865780027301900/
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