Illustration: AI
Askhat Khasenov, head of KazMunayGas, said supplying the domestic market was the company’s top priority. Answering questions from Kursiv, he commented on reports of unused quotas for gasoline exports to Russia. Khasenov did not confirm that two refineries had been allocated quotas (kz.kursiv.media).
How Askhat Khasenov explained the focus on the domestic market
According to the KMG chief, petroleum product supply volumes depend on domestic consumption. The supply-demand balance is assessed monthly, while any further regulation is the Energy Ministry’s responsibility.
Khasenov explained that petroleum product supply volumes are assessed against the current supply-demand balance, taking monthly domestic consumption into account. He said supplying the domestic market was the top priority and that any further regulation was the Energy Ministry’s responsibility.
What the KMG chief said about export quotas
Khasenov explained that the gasoline export quota is issued to the country as a whole. It does not apply solely to KazMunayGas.
Askhat Khasenov noted that the gasoline export quota is national and does not apply solely to KazMunayGas. He did not confirm, and said he could not confirm, reports that two KMG refineries had received a third-quarter quota to export AI-92 gasoline to Russia but had not used it.
The refineries in question were Atyrau and Pavlodar. The question concerned reports of permits for shipments to Russia in the third quarter, from July to September.
What this means for you
In Khasenov’s response, domestic consumption, assessed each month, guides petroleum product supplies. However, the permitted export volume and actual shipments can differ, as the Kondensat refinery’s example shows.
According to Reuters, citing industry data and sources, its gasoline export quota for July–September was 100.3 thousand tonnes. Actual exports over that period reached 42.5 thousand tonnes.
These figures relate to Kondensat: there is no basis for applying them to the Atyrau and Pavlodar refineries.
How shipments to Russia developed
The Energy Ministry had previously said that Kondensat, which processes Russian feedstock, would export gasoline to Russia. The ministry said the refinery would send 70% of its output there.
According to Reuters, the refinery shipped 13.9 thousand tonnes of gasoline to Russia in August and 17.5 thousand tonnes in September.
Kondensat had therefore already been shipping gasoline to Russian buyers. Khasenov said further regulation of petroleum product supplies was the Energy Ministry’s responsibility, reiterating that supplying the domestic market was the company’s top priority.
