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Kazakhstan Demands Faster Progress From Builders on Gas Processing Plant

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Kazakhstan's Energy Minister Erlan Akkenzhenov has called for contractors building a gas processing plant in the city of Zhanaozen to speed up work which he said had now slipped far behind schedule, according to a ministry press release.

He made the remarks while inspecting the project which was scheduled to be completed within 36 months, 29 of which have now passed, according to the statement but with only 40% of the work now finished.

"This pace of construction does not satisfy us. Contractors must immediately start to increase the quantity of completed work," Akkenzhenov said.

In terms of construction work alone, the statement said completion stood at a much lower 13%, despite a planned 2027 start of operations.

Of 259 equipment orders from foreign manufacturers, only 98 have so far been shipped, prompting the minister to call on contractors to liaise more closely with suppliers and increase domestic assembly capacity.

"The Zhanaozen Gas Processing Plant is a strategically important project for our country," Akkenzhenov said.

"The client provided the contractors with a 100% advance payment on time. Now it is essential to significantly accelerate the pace of construction and ensure the plant is commissioned on schedule".

The statement said that the project now requires additional manpower and specialized equipment and that when it reaches peak construction activity, around 1,200 specialists are expected to be working on the site.

Once operational, the gas processing plant will have capacity for 900 million cubic meters of gas a year, of which 743 million will be commercial gas and 217,000, liquefied petroleum gas. The plant will also produce 122,000 metric tons of pentane-hexane fraction per year.

The statement said that the ministry has stepped up oversight of the project, requiring contracts to provide a weekly report on construction progress and on measures taken to address delays.

The city of Zhanaozen where construction is taking place, was where protests over a near-doubling of LPG prices led to protests in January 2022.

These then fanned out nationwide and resulted in the deaths of more than 238 people, mostly civilians and some security forces, according to media reports and NGOs.

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