Kazakhstan, Russia will soon complete feasibility study on increasing Russian oil shipments to China - Kazakh Energy Ministry

ASTANA. July 31 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan and Russia will soon complete their study of the technical feasibility of increasing transportation of Russian oil to China via Kazakh territory, Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov said at a press conference in Astana on Thursday.

"Such work, I mean the technical feasibility study, is underway. It's being conducted both by Transneft and KazTransOil. I believe it will be completed shortly, after which we will have a definitive answer on whether new pump stations need to be built," Akkenzhenov said.

"Preliminary data suggests we can manage this by using specialized additives," he said.

Transneft previously requested that Kazakhstan increase transit of Russian oil to China by 2.5 million tonnes, he said.

The current intergovernmental agreement between Kazakhstan and Russia provides for pumping up to 10 million tonnes of Russian oil annually through Kazakhstan to China. In 2024, actual transit volumes of Russian oil through Kazakhstan reached 10.2 million tonnes.