Kazakhstan needs to start building fourth refinery in 2016 - minister
ASTANA. April 22 (Interfax) - A fourth refinery construction project should be launched in 2016, Kazakh Minister of Oil and Gas Sauat Mynbayev told a Monday sitting of the Majilis (the lower chamber of the Kazakh parliament).
"We need to start construction of a fourth refinery in 2016. However, we have yet to decide on the location of the future refinery," he said.
Upgrading projects at the three existing refineries are already underway. "However, the expanded capacities of the three refineries will only be able to satisfy domestic demand until 2024," Mynbayev sad, citing experts.
Earlier, Mynbayev said that construction of a new oil refinery should be started in 2020.
"We are planning a fourth refinery, which should start construction [in 2020]. All preparations should start in 2018. Why build in 2020? Because if construction is brought to a conclusion in four to five years, the capacity of the three reconstructed refineries would not be enough by 2025 as domestic demand increases," he said.
There are three refineries in Kazakhstan: in Pavlodar, Shymkent and Atyrau. They are all controlled by KazMunayGas.