Petrochemical industry development to generate over 19,000 jobs, Kazakh Energy Minister
Development of the country’s petrochemistry will generate over 19,000 jobs, Kazinform News Agency quotes Kazakh Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov as saying at today’s Government meeting in Astana.
Petrochemical industry development is one of the priorities for reorientation of the oil and gas sector from a raw-materials-based model to the production of high-value-added goods.
The Head of State stressed the importance of the industry, calling it a strategic direction able to reveal new opportunities for the domestic market and exports.
The Minister said today, Kazakhstan is one of the largest oil and gas producers in the Eurasian region. Thereat, the industry’s structure remains mainly raw-materials-based. Kazakhstan is primarily focused on upstream exploration and development activities. Despite large resources and infrastructure, the country’s exploration potential, especially in petrochemistry, is partially realized. And this leads to some strategic challenges.
He added to overcome challenges, the Energy Ministry approved last October the roadmap for the petrochemical industry development for 2024-2030. It includes six key directions and 34 actions aimed at stimulating the industry. Among them is the development of six large investment projects worth some 15 billion US dollars. The development of the project will help create 3,500 permanent jobs and over 16,000 temporary jobs during the construction.
