NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan’s gasoline prices have dropped, and an Energyprom study found that the country has sufficient supply for the domestic market and is planning to gradually increase exports.
According to May data, average prices in Kazakhstan dropped 6.9 percent for AI-92 gasoline, down to 147.6 tenge (US$0.38) per litre; 3.8 percent for AI-95/96, down to 168.6 tenge (US$0.44) per litre; and 3.4 percent for AI-98 gasoline, down to 185.9 tenge per litre (US$0.48), compared with May 2018.
During the first four months of this year, 1.2 million tonnes of gasoline, including aviation gas, were produced in Kazakhstan, 9 percent more than during the same period a year earlier. Diesel fuel production increased 10.3 percent, reaching 1.6 million tonnes.
The largest output during these four months was in Pavlodar Region, which generated 38.6 percent of gasoline and 41.4 percent of diesel fuel production. The Pavlodar Petrochemical Plant is one of the most powerful refineries in the country. Shymkent Region provided 35.6 percent of gasoline production and 25.3 percent of diesel fuel production through its Shymkent Refinery. Atyrau Region provided 24.6 percent of gasoline and 29.3 percent of diesel production through the Atyrau Oil Refinery.
According to the January to March results, Kazakh producers provided 98.2 percent of domestic gasoline demand and 93.1 percent of domestic diesel fuel demand. Due to the growth of production and import substitution in the sector, gasoline imports decreased almost 94 percent over the year, dropping to 16,700 tonnes.
Gasoline exports increased by 11.2 times over the year, but are still insignificant at just 665.9 tonnes.
Legislative restrictions once hindered exports, but that is no longer the case. Kazakh Vice Minister of Energy Makhambet Dosmukhambetov announced that the first exports of Kazakh gasoline to Kyrgyzstan would begin in July.
The Ministry of Energy has already reported that Kazakhstan will export gasoline to Kyrgyzstan in small batches of 10,000 tonnes. Former Vice Minister of Energy and current KAZENERGY Association General Director Bolat Akchulakov said that the country has accumulated excess gasoline.
