An extended meeting of the board of the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan chaired by Roman Sklyar was held
On February 1, 2023, under the leadership of the First Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Roman Sklyar, a meeting of the collegium of the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan was held, where the head of the department, Bolat Akchulakov, summed up the work for 2022 and set tasks for 2023.
B. Akchulakov dwelled in detail on the ongoing work within the framework of 8 main areas of activity aimed at ensuring the socio-economic stability of the country.
The main indicators of the oil industry were announced. The volume of oil production in 2022 amounted to 84.2 million tons. Oil exports amounted to 64.3 million tons. For 2023, it is planned to ensure oil production at the level of 90.5 million tons, and oil export at the level of 71 million tons.
According to the head of the department, in order to increase the resource base of hydrocarbon raw materials, legislative changes have been adopted to improve investment attractiveness and improve procedures in the field of subsoil use.
In 2022, the production of petroleum products amounted to 13.7 million tons, which is 1 million tons more than last year.
“As part of the fulfillment of the task set by the Head of State to meet the growing need of the economy for high-quality fuels and lubricants, this year we will begin developing a feasibility study to expand the Shymkent refinery with an increase in production from 6 to 9 million tons per year with the prospect of increasing to 12 million tons per year," the head of the Ministry of Energy said.
Bitumen production in 2022 amounted to 930 thousand tons. The plan for 2023 is 1.1 million tons.
According to the Minister of Energy, at the end of 2022, gas production amounted to 53.2 bcm. In 2023, it is planned to produce 55 billion m3 of associated petroleum gas, of which 28 billion m3 of commercial gas will be produced.
The Comprehensive Plan for the Development of the Gas Industry until 2026 was adopted, which provides for measures to increase the gas resource base, reform the gas market and contain prices for socially vulnerable categories of citizens.
In 2023, it is planned to adopt a law on the reengineering of liquefied petroleum gas regulation processes in order to ensure transparency in the circulation of liquefied petroleum gas.
In general, at the end of 2022, the level of gasification of the country amounted to 59%.
In 2023, it is planned to increase the share of gasification of the population to 60% with the implementation of 86 projects for a total amount of budget investments of 74 billion tenge.
“According to the results of 2022, electricity generation amounted to 112.8 billion kWh, the plan for 2023 is 114.9 billion kWh. The volume of renewable energy generation amounted to 5.1 billion kWh, the share of renewable energy sources reached 4.5%. In 2022, 12 renewable energy projects with a total capacity of 385 MW were implemented. In 2023, it is planned to commission 15 renewable energy projects with a capacity of 276 MW,” said the head of the Ministry of Energy B. Akchulakov..
According to the instructions of the Head of State, in the 1st quarter of 2023, an audit of all thermal power plants and grids of the country will be completed.
To encourage market entities to direct investments for the reconstruction and modernization of capacities, a new Tariff in Exchange for Investments Program is being developed. The volume of investment in the industry under the Program is estimated at about 400 billion tenge annually.
In 2023, the Law “On Heat Power Industry” will be adopted. The law is aimed at solving the problems of heat supply to the regions, will allow to implement long-term plans and systematize the relationship between central and local executive bodies.
According to B. Akchulakov, the volume of uranium production in 2022 amounted to
21.3 thousand tons.
As the head of the Ministry of Energy noted, one of the important issues is to increase the conversion of extracted products, so in December 2022, the initial batch of fuel assemblies was delivered to China, which are intended for the operation of nuclear power plants.
As part of the construction of a nuclear power plant in 2022, a “shortlist” of proven reactor technology suppliers from countries such as China (CNNC), Russia (Rosatom), Korea (KHNP), France (EDF) was compiled. In the current year, work will be carried out on the choice of reactor technology.
The Zhambyl district of the Almaty region is recommended as the optimal location for the NPP. In 2023, the issue of choosing the location of the nuclear power plant will be submitted for public discussion.