Kazakh Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov said Tuesday that the Kondensat oil refinery in the West Kazakhstan region will be processing Russian oil.
During a government briefing, Akkenzhenov said that an agreement is currently in place for the export of 70% of the facility's output to Russia, while 30% of in-demand petroleum products will remain in Kazakhstan.
"I believe these are normal conditions. The owner (of the enterprise running the refinery) is not included on any sanctions lists, so we won't be affected by the sanctions," Akkenzhenov was quoted as saying by Russian state news agency Tass.
Noting that there are currently no pipelines connecting the facility to Kazakhstan's or Russia's pipeline systems, Akkenzhenov further said that the refined oil will be delivered by rail.
"If the owner wants to ship products now, that's no problem. Everything depends on the railway's capacity. I know they're undertaking some reconstruction work at this plant to increase capacity. The benefits for us are additional investment in our country and job security," Akkenzhenov added.
The Kazinform news agency also quoted Akkenzhenov as saying that his country's oil production plan for 2026 has been adjusted from 98 million tons to 96 million tons.
He added that production losses due to attacks on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium will amount to 3.5 million tons.
Long-range drone attacks by Ukraine on oil refineries in Russia in recent months have forced several facilities to suspend operations or undergo repairs, putting pressure on fuel production and distribution in some regions of the country.
