KazMunayGas Explains Atyrau Plant Stake Sale to Russian Company

KazMunayGas (KMG) has officially commented on its decision to sell 60% of Polymer Production LLP, a major polypropylene bag and film plant located in Atyrau, to Russia’s Sibur Holding, Orda.kz reports.

KMG clarified that it became the sole owner of Polymer Production LLP in December 2023 (before that, the enterprise was part of the Samruk-Kazyna NWF group). 

At the time of the transaction, the facility was not operational — production lines had been mothballed, and employees were sitting idle, receiving partial salary compensation.

The company's loss was 5.8 billion tenge. Since the acquisition, KMG has been working to restore operations while continuing to meet staff social obligations. However, the production of BOPP film — used mainly for food packaging — is not a core business for KMG,the national company stated. 

Because the film plant was classified as a non-core asset, KMG began searching for a strategic investor who could revive the facility. Sibur Holding was chosen for two key reasons:

First, Sibur Holding is already KMG’s partner in the KPI project (production of polypropylene, which is the main raw material for the Polymer Production plant). Second, Sibur has extensive experience manufacturing similar BOPP film in various grades (the production capacity of Sibur plants is 180 thousand tons per year). This deal will help fast-track the restoration of Polymer Production’s operations and bring substantial investment,KMG explained. 

The company expects to restart the plant and return workers from downtime by Q3 or Q4 of 2025. In the meantime, employees are undergoing training and internships at Sibur facilities.

According to KMG, the deal will help restore domestic production, create over 200 jobs, and allow for local supply and export of finished goods.

News of the plant’s sale to the Russian holding company surfaced last week.

Original Author: Nikita Drobny