QazaqGas: Prime Minister Bektenov Demands to Hear About Problems

On April 23, during a government meeting, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov criticized the head of the national company QazaqGaz, Sanzhar Zharkeshov.

Like most speakers, Zharkeshov confidently reported on his company’s achievements and appeared ready to hand over the floor. But this time, the Prime Minister interrupted, asking to hear not just successes, but problems.

What Zharkeshov Told the Prime Minister

Zharkeshov listed several major infrastructure accomplishments. In Almaty, the construction of external gas infrastructure for CHPP-2 and CHPP-3 was completed, including two automatic gas distribution stations, the TIP-04 gas pipeline jumper, and the second line of the Almaty–Baiserke–Talgar pipeline.

He also reported ongoing construction of the Taldykorgan–Usharal gas pipeline, which will supply gas to 66 settlements in the Jetysu region.

The second line of the Beineu–Bozoi–Shymkent pipeline, the Aqtobe–Qostanay pipeline, and the KS-14 compressor station are also under active construction. Work continues on major repairs of the Central Asia–Center pipeline and the gasification of northeastern Kazakhstan.

Zharkeshov noted the start of construction on a $1.35 billion urea plant with Turkish investor ESTA, as well as plans with Turkmengaz to develop the Galkynysh field.

He also mentioned investment from Qatar in gas-related projects.

An important step was the launch of construction on a plant for the transshipment and fractionation of liquefied petroleum gas at the Kashagan field. The project will help reduce the country’s liquefied gas deficit, initially by 400,000 tons per year and eventually by up to 700,000 tons, said Sanzhar Zharkeshov. 

He then touched on social projects, including plans to expand the "Social Wallet" program, which offers gas discounts via eGov Mobile to low-income households. He also highlighted recent discoveries of new gas deposits in the Jambyl region and confirmed high productivity at the Anabay field.

The Prime Minister listened:

Are there any problematic issues at work? So far, we've only heard about positive results. We need to discuss more on the challenges. Bring them to light. Discuss them,Bektenov said. 

Zharkeshov quickly responded with what was needed.

There were problems at the Kashagan Gas Processing Plant. Construction work was slow. Since a new general contractor took over, the issues have been resolved 100%. Construction has expanded. Now we plan to complete the work on schedule,he said. 

Why Bektenov Wasn’t Convinced

Zharkeshov has headed QazaqGaz since February 2022, replacing Dariga Nazarbayeva’s husband, Kairat Sharipbayev, who left amid a scandal involving financial violations totaling billions of tenge.

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In June 2022, Zharkeshov revealed in the Majilis that intermediary schemes and financial violations had amounted to 937 billion tenge. But since then, little has been publicly discussed.

There’s no public record of QazaqGaz pursuing legal action to recover the stolen funds. However, there are court cases initiated by organizations affiliated with Kairat Sharipbayev seeking payment from the company for services rendered.

The projects highlighted by Zharkeshov are not new. Many were included in gas development programs from the 2010s.

For example, gasification of CHPP-2 in Almaty and regional pipeline construction have long been standard tasks for QazaqGaz. The completion of external gas infrastructure for the Almaty plant was already announced back in September of last year.

What Should Have Been Addressed?

One key issue is the availability and affordability of natural gas for citizens. Kazakhstan relies on Russian gas transiting to Uzbekistan, which allows for limited diversion of supply, only within the technical capacity of the pipeline, and subject to agreement with both Russia and Uzbekistan.

This makes Kazakhstan dependent on its partners for access to vital energy resources.

The center and northeast of Kazakhstan cannot rely on gas supplies from the transit of Russian fuel to China. That hope was recently dashed by the Chinese ambassador to Russia, who stated that building a gas pipeline through Kazakhstan was questionable. 

The status of the second line of the Beineu–Shymkent gas pipeline also remains unclear.

What is known is that the national company is supporting the involvement of the Qatari firm UCC Holding.

This company has no prior track record of investing in Kazakhstan or other post-Soviet countries, but has expressed interest in the second line of the Beineu–Shymkent pipeline, as well as gas processing plants at Kashagan, one with a projected capacity of 1 billion cubic meters per year, and the other with a capacity of 2.5 billion cubic meters per year.

In February, Orda.kz submitted a request to QazaqGaz, seeking details about the second Beineu–Shymkent line, including its specifications, cost, and funding sources.

As of now, no response has been received.

Geological exploration could bring long-term benefits—but only if the newly discovered fields are connected to gas pipelines and processing facilities are built. These are investments with a timeline of at least 10 years. Meanwhile, as acknowledged by the national company itself, a gas shortage could emerge much sooner.

It would be more practical to focus on existing projects—specifically, to expedite the construction of gas processing plants at Kashagan. Yet those same plants were mentioned by the head of QazaqGaz as examples of delayed progress during his recent report to the Prime Minister.

There is also a third plant, with a planned capacity of 4 billion cubic meters per year, which the NCOC consortium has pledged to construct.

Whether Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov expected to hear these problems laid out in full detail is uncertain. But now, at the very least, he knows they exist.

Original Author: Editorial 

Please refer to the original article via the link above for accuracy.