Oil Chronicles
Oil Chronicles. April 2026
April
Subsidiaries of China's Sinopec have been selected as EPC contractors for the Butadiene project in the Atyrau region. GPEC (Guangzhou Engineering) won the EPC contract for the butane separation, isobutane dehydrogenation, and butadiene extraction units, and for general plant infrastructure. SNEC (Ningbo Engineering) won the contract for the synthetic rubber units (SBS) and the solution-polymerised styrene-butadiene rubber (SSBR) units.
The final investment decision to construct a USD 1.1 bln plant to produce butadiene and its derivatives in the Atyrau region was taken in July 2025 by the project partners (75% Russia's Tatneft and 25% the state fund Samruk-Kazyna). The technology licensor selected is America's Lummus Technology, and engineering and basic design were done by China's Tianchen Engineering Corporation (TCC). In late January 2026, Tatneft sold its stake in the project to Samruk-Kazyna.
Mirat Utepov has been appointed General Director of Asia Gas Pipeline LLP. Born in 1989, he graduated from KIMEP (2006-2010) with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics (BAE), Faculty of Social Sciences; from City University London (2010-2011) with a Master of Science in Business Economics (MSc), Faculty of Social Sciences, as a holder of the Bolashak international scholarship; and from the University of Warwick, United Kingdom (2023-2025), with an MBA from Warwick Business School. Before this appointment, he was Co-Managing Director for Economics and Finance at Samruk-Kazyna. He had previously worked at KazMunayGas and at KMG Kashagan B.V.
The US Treasury Department has extended the licence for the transit of Russian crude through Kazakhstan to China until March 2027. US sanctions against Rosneft, whose crude is pumped through the Kazakhstani pipeline system to China under a contract with KazTransOil, were introduced in October 2025. The volume of crude transit along this route is around 10 mln tons per year, under a long-term contract running until 2034.
April 2, a contract was signed in Astana between the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan, KazMunayGas, and Geoenergija Razvoj, a subsidiary of the Croatian Hydrocarbon Agency (CHA), for the exploration and production of hydrocarbons at the Shygys block in the Aktobe region. The project will be carried out on a parity basis (50/50), with the Croatian side providing full financing for the exploration phase.
The minimum work program includes 500 line km of 2D seismic surveys and the drilling of an exploration well to a depth of 3,500 m.
April 6, QazaqGaz signed a memorandum of understanding with Shell Kazakhstan for gas master planning. The document provides for the creation of a joint technical working group for a joint study of the gas industry. "The memorandum lays the foundation for further cooperation between QazaqGaz and Shell, and is aimed at assessing the prospects for developing Kazakhstan's gas resources in light of growing domestic demand and the strategic need to expand gas supplies," QazaqGaz head Alibek Zhamauov said at the signing.
April 7, the Majilis committee on ecology and natural resources discussed measures to increase the share of Kazakhstani content in regulated procurement on the Tengiz, Karachaganak, and Kashagan projects. Tengizchevroil General Director William Lacobie presented information on the company's strategic in-country value program for goods, works, and services, which has become the basis for ensuring Kazakhstani content over the next five years. Also discussed were the company's production results for 2025, corporate social responsibility and engagement with local communities, environmental protection, and gas-supply issues.
April 10, Minister of Energy Yerlan Akkenzhenov discussed with a government delegation from the Republic of Korea the continuation of stable and mutually beneficial supplies of Kazakhstani crude to the country. Following the meeting, Korean companies were invited to expand their presence in new projects in Kazakhstan, not only as EPC contractors but also as full co-investors. Familiarisation sessions on KMG’s exploration projects were organised for KNOC specialists.
April 11, drones hit Lukoil's platforms on the Caspian shelf. "Drones of Ukraine's Special Operations Forces struck the ice-resistant platforms at the V. Grayfer field (formerly Rakushechnoye) and at the Yuri Korchagin field in the northern waters of the sea, around a thousand kilometres from the front line," Ukraine's General Staff said in a statement. That is approximately 450-470 km from Kazakhstan's offshore Kashagan field.
QazaqGaz has become the sole operator for the construction of the Karachaganak Gas Processing Plant, the Ministry of Energy announced. The decision was driven by the need to move quickly to the practical implementation stage and by the company's long-standing specialised experience in managing large gas assets. Previously, the Karachaganak GPP was to be built by KazMunayGas together with CITIC Construction.
April 16, a contract was signed at the Ministry of Energy for the exploration and production of hydrocarbons at the Severnoye-1 subsoil block in the Aktobe region. The document was signed by Vice Minister of Energy Yerlan Akbarov, QazaqGaz Deputy Chairman of the Management Board Asylzhan Dauletov, and CNPC-AktobeMunaiGas General Director Zhu Shitao.
Under the contract, 2D and 3D seismic surveys and the drilling of an independent and a dependent exploration well will be carried out. Total investment in exploration work will amount to 3.5 bln tenge.
Air Astana and FlyArystan have been fined for submitting distorted data on aviation-fuel storage volumes to the authorised body. According to the Civil Aviation Committee, “administrative measures have been applied to the said airlines in the form of a fine of 100 MRP for each of them.”
Renat Nukezhanov has been appointed Chairman of the Management Board of Karabatan Utility Solutions LLP. In 2012, he graduated from the Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University (Bachelor of Law) and in 2010 from Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (Bachelor of Economics and Business). In 2018-2022, he worked at the Almaty city prosecutor's office, as adviser to the akim of Taldykorgan, and in the Almaty regional department of economic investigations. From 2023, he was a department director at Samruk-Kazyna Ondeu LLP. From 2024, he served as Managing Director for Asset Management and a member of the Management Board of Karabatan Utility Solutions LLP.
The LLP is a subsidiary of Samruk-Kazyna Ondeu LLP and operates the production and general plant infrastructure facilities of the National Industrial Petrochemical Technopark Special Economic Zone (SEZ NIPT) in the Atyrau region.