Kazakhstan plans to commission a fourth major oil refinery by 2033 and choose its location by the end of 2026.
Daulet Arykbayev, director of the Oil Transportation and Refining Department at Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy, announced the plans at the Kazakhstan International Oil and Gas Exhibition and Conference (KIOGE 2026) in Almaty.
The new refinery is expected to process up to 10 million tons of oil per year. Potential sites are being assessed in Ulytau, Atyrau, Mangystau, and Turkestan regions.
“We have decided to accelerate the implementation of the new refinery project. By the end of this year, the assessment of four potential regions will be completed, after which the optimal region for construction will be officially selected. The new plant will become the core of a modern petrochemical cluster,” Arykbayev said.
In February 2026, the government set a target of increasing the country’s total oil-refining capacity to around 40 million tons per year by 2033. The previous industry plan envisaged construction of the fourth refinery between 2032 and 2040.
At KIOGE, the Energy Ministry provided updated capacity figures. The capacity of the three major refineries is expected to rise to a combined 27.7 million tons per year. Including the recently expanded Caspi Bitum plant, Kazakhstan’s existing refining capacity would reach 29.2 million tons. The fourth refinery would add up to another 10 million tons, bringing the national total to around 39 million tons annually.
Kazakhstan’s three largest refineries are in Atyrau in the west, Pavlodar in the northeast, and Shymkent in the south. The Shymkent refinery’s capacity is planned to double from 6 million to 12 million tons per year by 2030. The Pavlodar Petrochemical Plant is expected to expand from 5.5 million to 9 million tons by 2031, while the Atyrau refinery’s capacity is planned to rise from 5.5 million to 6.7 million tons by 2028.
To supply the expanded Shymkent refinery, Kazakhstan plans to increase the capacity of the Kazakhstan-China oil pipeline system. The project includes five new pumping stations and a 189-kilometer parallel pipeline section. Capacity on the Kenkiyak-Atyrau pipeline is planned to increase to 15 million tons per year, while the Kenkiyak-Kumkol section is expected to reach 20 million tons.
The government is also seeking foreign investors to help finance the fourth refinery.
