Oil and gas in Kazakhstan

Country overview

• Kazakhstan is a landlocked country.
• The country consumed 2.8 quadrillion Btu of energy in 2012.
• It is a Caspian Sea littoral state.
• The Ministry of Energy oversees the oil and gas industry.
• National oil and gas company KazMunaiGaz (KMG) represent’s the state’s interests in Kazakhstan’s oil and gas industry.

Oil

• Kazakhstan has been an oil producer since 1911.
• The country has the second largest oil reserves and the second largest oil production among the former Soviet republics.
• As of January 2014, the country had proved crude oil reserves of 30 billion bbls.
• Oil production in the country first exceeded 1 million bpd in 2003.
• The country is an exporter of light sweet crude oil.
• In 2013, it exported approximately 1.4 million bbls of crude oil and condensate.
• More than three quarters of the country’s crude exports travel around or across the Caspain Sea to European markets.
• Another 16% of the country’s exports go to China via pipeline.
• There are four main oil export grades coming out of the country.
• Estimated total petroleum and liquids production was 1.70 million bpd in 2014.

Downstream and refining

• As of January 2014, the country had a crude oil distillation capacity of 345 093 bpd.
• The country has three refineries, namely Pavlodar, Atyrau and Shymkent.
• In 2013, Kazakhstan’s refineries met approximately 70% of domestic gasoline and diesel demand.
• During 2014 upgrading projects were underway at all three refineries.
• In October last year, the government officially backed a plan to expand the Shymkent refinery instead of building a new refinery.
• Once all work is finished, it is hoped that demand for gasoline and diesel will be met 100% domestically by 2017.

Natural gas

• Natural gas reserves were reported at 85 trillion ft3 as of January last year.
• Between 2003 and 2012, annual gross natural gas production almost tripled from 0.6 – 1.6 trillion ft3.
• Reinjected natural gas has accounted for most of the increase in gross production.
• There are two major export pipelines for natural gas.
• Natural gas consumption in Kazakhstan has been stagnant as the cost of expanding and maintaining infrastructure hinders it.

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/refining/15012015/profile-oil-gas-in-kazakhstan/