Karachaganak gas plant construction unlikely to get underway in 2026 - Kazakh energy minister

ALMATY. Feb 27 (Interfax) - Construction of a gas processing plant at the Karachaganak field in Kazakhstan is unlikely to begin in 2026, with work currently focused on project documentation, Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov said Friday.

"This year we have already started work on the project documents, but project documents require certain stages: pre-FEED, then FEED, and then construction," Akkenzhenov told journalists. "I doubt that physical construction will begin this year. Work on the project documents will probably be completed."

KazMunayGas (KMG) and CITIC Construction signed a framework agreement at the end of 2025, outlining basic cooperation principles for the plant's construction, including cost estimates, equipment configuration and forms of collaboration.

In March 2025, Karachaganak Petroleum Operating (KPO) announced the start of engineering work for the project, which is expected to have an annual capacity of 4 billion cubic meters.

Currently, up to 9 billion cubic meters of raw gas from Karachaganak is processed annually at Russia's Orenburg Gas Processing Plant before being returned to Kazakhstan for domestic use.

In July, Kazakhstan's Energy Ministry announced it was reviewing the project's implementation within the existing production-sharing agreement and exploring alternative mechanisms, including potential involvement of national companies. Akkenzhenov said in October 2025 that negotiations were underway and that KMG would lead construction efforts.

Also in late 2025, KMG subsidiary KMG PetroChem signed an EPC contract with a consortium led by China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Co., Ltd. (CPP) to build main pipelines in the Atyrau region, with CITIC Construction also participating.

The Karachaganak field holds an estimated 1.2 billion tonnes of oil and 1.35 trillion cubic meters of gas.