Oil Chronicles
Oil Chronicles. May 2025
May
May 1, following a meeting in Abu Dhabi between Askhat Khassenov, CEO of KazMunayGas, and Mohamed Al Shamsi, General Director of AD Ports Group, it was announced that AD Ports had made the investment decision to build two modern container vessels. The vessel design was developed jointly by KazMunayGas and AD Ports, and its capacity will be a record for the Caspian Sea at up to 780 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit).
The project is being implemented as part of the expansion of container traffic volumes along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route.
“The strategic cooperation between KazMunayGas and AD Ports Group covers such areas as the development of a tanker and commercial fleet for the Caspian Sea and open seas, as well as the creation of a fleet to support offshore projects,” the KazMunayGas statement said.
Bakhytzhan Taubayev, former Director of the Gas Industry Department of the Ministry of Energy, has been appointed Co-Managing Director for Strategy and Asset Management at the Samruk-Kazyna Fund.
He is a graduate of KBTU and the Turin Polytechnic University. He began his career in 2008 as a drilling engineer in private companies. He held management positions at Satpayev Operating, Zhambyl Petroleum, and Isatai Operating Company, and has served as First Deputy General Director of Zhenis Operating LLP since 2022.
Since September 2023, he has served as Director of the Gas Industry Department at the Ministry of Energy.
KazMunayGas published its 2024 Annual Report. The document presents the key performance indicators of the KMG Group of companies, information on significant corporate events, consolidated operating and financial results, as well as sustainability performance for 2024.
The Ministry of Energy stated that the agreements for Kashagan, Karachaganak, and Tengiz contain confidentiality provisions that protect commercial and technical information. Such provisions are international practice, and their violation could lead to multibillion-dollar claims and undermine investor confidence.
The ministry commented in this way on court decisions that rejected a lawsuit filed against the agency by Vadim Ni, founder of the environmental movement Save the Caspian Sea. He demanded that the Ministry of Energy disclose the terms of oil agreements that affect the marine environment of the Caspian Sea.
The agency assured that confidentiality provisions do not preclude state oversight. Operating companies are required to submit reports to the relevant authorities, which include environmental data. Thus, in 2024, the Kashagan operator was fined a substantial amount for environmental violations. “This case clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of existing oversight mechanisms,” the ministry emphasized.
New Managing Directors have been appointed at KazTransOil JSC. Ruslan Ibraimov has been appointed Managing Director for Assets. He has experience working with companies in Kazakhstan's financial and industrial sectors. He worked in the banking sector, at QazIndustry, and at Kazakh Invest, where he served as Deputy Chairman of the Management Board from 2021 to 2024. From April to September 2024, he headed the executive office of the national company QazaqGaz, and subsequently was appointed a business partner at KazTransOil JSC.
Aleksandr Nedze has been appointed Managing Director for Capital Construction. A graduate of Tyumen State Oil and Gas University with a major in “Design, Construction and Operation of Oil and Gas Pipelines and Storage Facilities,” he has worked within the KTO structure since 2009 and has progressed through all levels of the career ladder. Since April 2024 he has served as Deputy Director of the Project Management Department of KazTransOil.
May 5, Nurlan Zhakupov, Chairman of the Management Board of Samruk-Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund JSC, was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of KazMunayGas JSC. He replaced Yernat Berdigulov, who has been appointed General Director of Kazakhstan Nuclear Power Plants JSC.
May 5, Makhambet Yeleussinov was appointed Director of the Oil and Gas Production Department of KazMunayGas. Since July 2023, he has served as Deputy General Director for Production at Kazgermunai JV.
May 5, a ceremonial launch was held at the Aktau bitumen plant of Caspi Bitum JV following the completion of a large-scale modernization. CITIC Construction served as the project’s general contractor. Thanks to the effective organization of the work, including round-the-clock operations and the involvement of more than 220 specialists, the construction and installation work that began in November 2024 was completed one month ahead of schedule.
As a result of the modernization, the plant’s annual oil processing capacity increased from 1 to 1.5 million tons, and bitumen production from 500 to 750 thousand tons. The producing company, Karazhanbasmunai, supplies the feedstock for the plant.
KazMunayGas is seeking a strategic partner for a project to build a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plant, according to CEO Askhat Khassenov, who reported at a government meeting focused on the development of the petrochemical sector. As of today, Kazakhstan is entirely dependent on PET imports due to the absence of domestic production.
Last year, KazMunayGas and Sinopec discussed joint work on the project, with information also available about the completion of the pre-feasibility study and the team’s progress toward the FEED stage. However, no strategic partner will enter the project without resolving the issue of feedstock supply for future production, with paraxylene from the Atyrau Refinery being considered as the feedstock. The problem arises when the situation with high-octane gasoline in the country becomes tight, prompting the Atyrau Refinery to halt aromatics production and switch to fuel production mode.
Therefore, until the issue of fully supplying the domestic market with high-octane gasoline is resolved, the provision of paraxylene to the new production will remain in question.
At the Petromidia refinery owned by KMG International, operations have resumed at the low-density polyethylene (LDPE) production unit.
The decision was made in connection with the increase in demand for petrochemical products observed in the European market since the beginning of the year. Through the reintegration of the LDPE unit into the Petromidia refinery's petrochemical complex, the company aims to strengthen its position as the sole national producer of polymers in Romania.
At a design capacity of 75,000 tons per year, beginning in May of the current year the LDPE unit will start producing products used to manufacture shrink film, agricultural film, thin packaging film, and durable bags. Overall, in 2025, KMG International plans to produce more than 145,000 tons of polymers.
CNPC and the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan are negotiating an extension of the subsoil use contract for Mangistaumunaigaz JSC, in which the corporation and KazMunayGas each hold a 50 percent stake.
The current Contract No. 170 was concluded on January 17, 1998 and expires at the end of 2028. In the summer of last year, the Ministry of Energy and CNPC signed a framework agreement that confirmed the intention to extend the term of the current contract by at least 20 years on the condition that the Chinese side undertakes the obligation to implement one or more investment projects with a high economic effect as agreed with the ministry. Such projects are currently under discussion.