Oil Chronicles
Oil Chronicles. February 2026
February 2026
Tatneft has withdrawn from the butadiene rubber plant project in the Atyrau Region. The Russian company held a 75% participating interest in Butadiene LLP, the project operator, and the remaining 25% had been transferred to it under trust management by the state entity Samruk-Kazyna Ondeu. As of February 1, 99.999% of the participating interest in the LLP is held by Samruk-Kazyna Ondeu.
As the Telegram channel PACE writes, the key catalyst behind Tatneft's decision appears to be the sanctions imposed on the company, which significantly complicate both financing and access to technology.
February 2, KazMunayGas announced a free-flowing gas inflow obtained during well testing at the Karaton Subsalt site in Atyrau Region.
This is one of the company's strategic exploration projects aimed at assessing deep-lying horizons. Drilling began in November 2024 and was completed in December 2025, reaching a final depth of 5,750 m. The well test is accompanied by technological challenges, abnormally high reservoir pressure, and the presence of hydrogen sulfide. The results from testing the first target confirm the presence of hydrocarbons.
The project is being implemented under the Improved Model Contract, which provides regulatory and fiscal preferences.
In Qingdao, PRC, with the participation of a delegation from the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan, protocols were signed formalizing the transition of the Shymkent refinery expansion project into an active technical development phase. The baseline parameters for implementation were approved: PetroKazakhstan Oil Products LLP (PKOP) submitted the initial data package, and the East China Design Institute confirmed its readiness to commence work in strict accordance with the approved technical assignment.
The key outcome of the talks was confirmation of the refinery expansion configuration under the “6+6” scheme, meaning two process trains of 6 mln tons each, with full integration of the new capacities into the plant's operating facilities.
February 4, the Prosecutor's Office of Adjara terminated the criminal case against employees of the Batumi Oil Terminal owned by KazTransOil. Earlier, in early December 2025, the investigative service of Georgia's Ministry of Finance reported the detention of three citizens of Kazakhstan on suspicion of the duty-free sale of 10,000 tons of oil from the terminal. The case was terminated due to the absence of an act constituting a criminal offense. The company is operating in normal mode in accordance with Georgian law, according to KazTransOil's press service.
Northern Kazakhstan will be gasified through the construction of the Ishim-Astana gas pipeline, which will run through Petropavl and Kokshetau, Kazakhstan's Ambassador to Russia, Dauren Abaev, said. Under the preliminary timeline, the pipeline is expected to be operational starting January 1, 2030.
In Ishim, Tyumen Region, located about 100 km from the Russia-Kazakhstan border, the Ishim gas distribution station, commissioned in 2023, may become kilometre zero for the new gas pipeline.
Eldar Vaisov has been appointed the new Chair of the Management Board (General Director) of AstanaGaz KMG JSC. The previous head, Shyntas Zholayev, has been appointed Deputy General Director for Production. Eldar Vaisov previously served as Deputy Director of the Kostanay Production Branch of QazaqGaz Aimaq JSC. His father, Merei Vaisov, served as Deputy Prosecutor General of Kazakhstan from 2001 to 2008.
AstanaGaz KMG JSC is jointly owned by Samruk-Kazyna and Baiterek Venture Fund on a 50/50 basis. The company's core business is the construction of trunk gas pipelines. In particular, it implemented the Saryarka trunk gas pipeline project from Kyzylorda to Astana.
Cécile Rauline, Managing Director of ExxonMobil in Kazakhstan, has been elected to the Board of Directors of the American Chamber of Commerce in Kazakhstan.
The Board Chair is Saule Zhakaeva of Citi Kazakhstan. Another Board member is Dylan Morgan, Vice President of Chevron Eurasia.
Chevron Direct Investment Fund (CDIF) and the Kazakhstani company Mineral Product International (shareholder Sergey Kan) have signed an agreement to build a ferroalloy plant in Pavlodar Region. The plant's capacity is 80,000 tons of ferrosilicon (FeSi-75) per year, and the investment is $23.5 mln.
Aydyn Ashuyev, Adviser to the Minister of Energy, has been appointed Chief of Staff of the Ministry. He was born in 1976 in Almaty. He graduated from the Kazakh State Academy of Management and the Financial Academy JSC. He held senior positions within the Ministry of Justice, KazAgro, and the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan. From 2011, he served as Deputy Chair of the Agency for Statistics. From 2016, he served as Deputy General Director for Economics and Finance at Amangeldy Gaz LLP. From 2019, he held the positions of Chair of the Public Procurement Committee, Chair of the Treasury Committee, and Executive Secretary of the Ministry of Finance.
In 2022-2023, he served as Chair of the Management Board of the Social Health Insurance Fund, and in July 2025, he became Adviser to the Minister of Energy.