Oil refining in Kazakhstan set to rise from 18 to 39 million tons by 2040
Kazakhstan plans to more than double its annual oil refining capacity to 39 million tons by 2040 under a new strategy aimed at modernizing the sector, increasing processing depth and expanding petrochemical production, Qazinform News Agency reports.
Nazym Bekbatyrova, head of the Oil Refining and Petroleum Products Production Department at Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy, presented the key provisions of the approved Concept for the Development of the Oil Refining Industry for 2025-2040 at the 13th Downstream Central Asia & Caspian Summit in Astana.
According to Bekbatyrova, the concept focuses on the gradual modernization and expansion of refining capacity, increasing the depth of crude oil processing, improving the quality of petroleum products and developing the petrochemical industry.
Implementation of the strategy is expected to increase annual oil refining volumes from 18 million to 39 million tons. The ratio of oil production to refining is also projected to improve from 5:1 to 2.5:1.
The Ministry of Energy estimates that the strategy will require between 15 billion and 19 billion US dollars in investment. The projects are expected to create new jobs, strengthen the industry’s scientific and technological base, and create conditions for higher exports of petroleum and petrochemical products.
The concept identifies six key areas of development: ensuring the domestic economy is supplied with locally produced petroleum products, increasing petrochemical output, developing applied science, strengthening the industry’s workforce, adapting the sector to modern technological trends, and expanding export opportunities.
Among the key targets set for 2040 are the expansion of refining capacity, increasing the depth of oil processing from 89 to 94 percent, upgrading motor fuels to the K5+ environmental standard, and increasing production of benzene and paraxylene.
Thus, the development of oil refining and petrochemicals is viewed as a key step in moving Kazakhstan away from a predominantly raw-material-based economic model toward the production of higher value-added goods, while strengthening the country’s energy and economic resilience.
Earlier, Qazinform reported KazTransOil increased oil transportation by 4% in the first eight months of 2026.