ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 26. The Ministry of
Energy of Kazakhstan has denied information about the sale of the
country’s oil refineries to Russian companies, said Energy Minister
Almassadam Satkaliyev during a briefing, Trend
reports.
“Nobody applied to the Ministry of Energy for approval of such
transactions. Therefore, I agree with KazMunayGas’ (Kazakhstan’s
national oil and gas company) opinion that it is premature to talk
about any commercial transactions. In general, in Kazakhstan, there
are already refineries that are 50/50 owned by KMG and CNPC; in
particular, this is the Shymkent Oil Refinery in the south of the
country, where there are private mini-refineries. From the point of
view of the Ministry of Energy, what is important here is not so
much the form of ownership as management efficiency, implementation
of investment programs, and stable operation,” the minister
said.
Meanwhile, information about the sale of the Atyrau Oil Refinery
to Lukoil and the Pavlodar Oil Refinery to Gazprom was spread on
social networks.
Furthermore, the Shymkent Oil Refinery has temporarily ceased
operations. The plant’s operations were suspended due to the start
of repair work.