ASTANA (TCA) — Investors from China support the idea of construction of Kazakhstan’s fourth oil refinery in the western Mangistau province, Novosti-Kazakhstan news agency reported citing Mangistau province Governor Alik Aidarbayev.
“They (Chinese companies) and us are making plans (concerning an oil refinery). Nobody (in Kazakhstan) supports my idea to build a fourth oil refinery in Mangistau. But the Chinese support. Why? Because they look to the future… They say if there is a modern oil refinery, we will be able to export oil products to Iran and farther. This, in turn, will support our oil producing companies,” Aidarbayev told journalists on February 2.
He added that he would officially raise the issue of building the refinery after completion of the project’s feasibility study together with Chinese investors.
Kazakhstan now has three oil refineries — in Atyrau, Pavlodar, and Shymkent.
The governor also said he does not see any Chinese expansion in Kazakhstan’s oil-producing sector. “The share of Chinese investors in Kazakhstan’s oil industry is not that big, we keep the balance, and I see no expansion here. It is the attraction of direct foreign investment,” he said.
Governor Aidarbayev also said that the Mangistau province, one of the largest oil-producing regions in Kazakhstan, will try to maintain the oil production level at 18.5 million tons per year.
In his words, the government of Kazakhstan is now considering a scenario of reducing oil production if the oil price continues to fall.
“We will be trying to retain oil production volumes in our province under any conditions,” the governor said.
