PetroKazakhstan project to boost oil processing capabilities

The second phase of the revamp and modernization project of PetroKazakhstan Oil Products in Shymkent, Kazakhstan, was completed on Wednesday.

It will significantly increase the oil processing capability and oil quality of the China-Kazakhstan joint venture.

The commissioning of the second phase of the project also started on Wednesday, and the company has continuously produced qualified products since then.

The project will significantly enhance the crude oil processing depth of the company, improve its light oil products yield by more than 20 percent, and increase its oil processing capacity from about 4 million metric tons a year to 6 million tons, said Wei Yuxiang, president of PetroKazakhstan.

Built in 1985, PetroKazakhstan Oil Products, one of the top three largest oil refineries in Kazakhstan, became a 50-50 joint venture between China National Petroleum Corporation and KazMunayGas, a state-owned oil and gas company of Kazakhstan, in 2007.

The refinery started the revamp and modernization project in 2014.

"It is a major project that combines China's Belt and Road Initiative with Kazakhstan's Bright Path economic policy," said Bian Dezhi, president of CNPC Central Asia.

Divided into two phases, the project is contracted to CNPC, the world's third-largest oil company, which holds a 50 percent stake in PetroKazakhstan Oil Products. The first phase of the project was completed in June 2017, improving the level of oil quality from the previous Euro II standard to Euro IV and Euro V standards, said Bian.

"The project will play a key role in improving the local ecological environment, creating 400 more jobs, increasing tax income of the local government, and promoting upgrade and modernization of Kazakh industries," he said.

CNPC Central Asia is highly localized, with 98 percent of its employees coming from local countries and regions.