Kazakhstan plans LPG output expansion

Spanish Market: LPG
15/07/25

In addition to launching new GPPs, existing plants are being readied to collect associated gas from oil fields to meet autogas and petrochemical demand

The Kazakh government intends to build three new gas processing plants (GPPs) by 2030 and increase the production of associated gas at oil fields to ease recent shortages of LPG in the country. These plans could raise LPG output by around 1mn t/yr by 2030, according to market participants — potentially putting it at more than 4mn t/yr.

The country's autogas and petrochemical sectors are driving continued domestic demand growth. The number of cars running on autogas increased by 36pc on the year in May, data from national statistics bureau Qazstat show. LPG consumption has grown to approximately 2.5mn t/yr from closer to 650,000 t/yr 10 years earlier, Argus Consulting data show. This is below domestic production but the country is an important LPG exporter in the region, delivering more than 1mn t/yr.

Commissioning of the 1bn m³/yr Kashagan GPP is planned for the end of 2025, the energy ministry says. The plant will produce around 119,000 t/yr of LPG, with the first domestic market shipments planned for December. The project's second phase will add 2.5bn m³/yr of processing capacity by mid-2029, with yields expected to exceed 300,000 t/yr. Another GPP with a capacity of up to 900mn m³/yr is scheduled to launch in Zhanaozen in 2027. This will replace an older GPP at the site, which was commissioned in 1973, so it is not expected to significantly affect domestic output. A 4bn m³/yr GPP that will process raw gas from the Karachaganak field was due to open in 2029 but the start-up has been delayed to 2030, market participants say. This should produce around 350,000 t/yr.

Kazakh upstream company Tengizchevroil (TCO) is also adding an ethane-separation unit for gas produced at the Tengiz field, which will process around 9.1bn m³/yr of gas and 1.6mn t/yr of ethane, as well as 12,000 t/yr of LPG.

All existing GPPs in the country are additionally being primed to produce an extra 200,000-220,000 t/yr of LPG by connecting gas pipelines to oil fields to collect associated gas. Kazakh oil firm Zhaikmunai plans to start processing raw gas from the Stepnoy Leopard field in 2027. This will raise LPG output by around 80,000 t/yr. Upstream firm Kazgermunai is to increase the processing of associated gas from several local oil producers at its GPP this summer. And the Zhanazhol GPP, operated by CNPC-Aktobemunaigas, will begin receiving 200mn m³/yr of gas from Kazmunaigas' Urikhtau field by the end of 2026, with supplies gradually increasing to 1bn m³/yr.

Kazakhstan's LPG production stood at 1.53mn t in January-June, unchanged compared with the same period a year earlier, data from statistical agency SAC TEK show. LPG output fell from seven of the country's producers, while the other five raised production.

Export ban extension

The country's LPG exports meanwhile dropped by 93,000t on the year to 285,400t in January-June, according to rail forwarders. The Kazakh government extended a partial ban on LPG exports for a further six months from 14 May — the fourth consecutive six-month extension. The ban does not apply to companies with production-sharing agreements or those producing LPG from Karachaganak field gas, such as upstream firms TCO, Zhaikmunai and Kazrosgaz.

The government has also extended a wholesale LPG price cap at 51,932 tenge/t ($99.95/t), excluding value-added tax, from 1 July until the end of the year. The current tariff was set in February, replacing the previous rate of 45,158 tenge/t, to narrow losses for producers supplying the domestic market. The measure aims to contain price growth and ensure stable conditions for consumers. The regulated price ceiling is still lower than the cost of LPG production, so plants incur losses, traders say.

Kazakh LPG output		'000t
Producer	Jan-Jun	±% Jan-Jun 24

TCO	627.1	-7.1
CNPC-Aktobemunaigas	240.7	-2.1
Shymkent refinery	178.8	26.0
Pavlodar refinery	147.0	-10.1
Atyrau refinery	124.7	18.9
Kazakhstansky GPP	100.9	3.4
Zhaikmunai	48.3	58.7
Kazgermunaigas	29.5	-15.6
GPC	22.5	1.8
Kazakhoil-Aktobe	14.3	-4.8
Amangeldy GPP	0.9	-25.5
Sauts-Oil	0.3	-72.9
Total	1 534.80	0.1
— SAC TEK

Kazakh LPG exports

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16/12/25

Viewpoint: European HVO prices unlikely to ease in 2026

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EU to dilute Ice vehicle phase out: German lawmaker

15/12/25

EU to dilute Ice vehicle phase out: German lawmaker

Brussels, 15 December (Argus) — The European Commission is likely this week to dilute its plan to phase out sales of new internal combustion engine (Ice) vehicles by 2035, according to a lawmaker. "The ban on internal combustion engines is history," said Manfred Weber, the chair of parliament's largest centre-right group EPP. He said the commission will present on 16 December an automotive package that "will revise the CO2 standards for cars, reversing the disastrous ban on internal combustion engines". Weber is a member of Germany's CDU/CSU party, as is commission president Ursula von der Leyen. German chancellor Friedrich Merz has called on the EU to allow the sale of vehicles with highly efficient combustion engines, plug-in hybrids and range-extender EVs beyond 2035. This had faced pushback, with more than 150 European e-mobility firms requesting the commission "stand firm" on its 2035 target. An EU official said the target is now likely to be for a 90pc GHG reduction from 2035 for new vehicles. "As it stands the targets for 2030, but also 2035, are not realistic," said Sigrid de Vries, director general of the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA). "Even with a 90pc target [for reducing GHG by 2035], make no mistake, that will be very, very challenging." The European motor industry has already flagged the possibility of huge fines for manufacturers should they fail to meet existing emissions targets, which are for a 15pc reduction by 2029 compared with a 2021 baseline, and a 55pc reduction from the same baseline in 2030-34. By Dafydd ab Iago Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Aramco Jafurah project still in commissioning: Resend

15/12/25

Aramco Jafurah project still in commissioning: Resend

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Supply surplus masks regional market tightness: IEA

11/12/25

Supply surplus masks regional market tightness: IEA

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Saudi Arabia brings giant Jafurah gas project onstream

03/12/25

Saudi Arabia brings giant Jafurah gas project onstream

Dubai, 3 December (Argus) — Saudi state-controlled Aramco has begun production from the first phase of the giant Jafurah natural gas project, the finance ministry said late on Tuesday. In its 2026 budget statement, the finance ministry listed the phase one start-up as one of Saudi Arabia's achievements in 2025. It didn't specify a date, but it is likely to have been in the past few days. It said production began at 450mn ft³/d, which is two and a half times the rate at which Aramco had long projected. With in-place reserves of 229 trillion ft³ (6.87 trillion m³) of raw gas and 75bn bl of condensate, Jafurah is the largest unconventional gas field in the Mideast Gulf and represents a major pillar of Aramco's ambitious gas expansion plans. Aramco has yet to announce the start up. It previously said it expects to lift sales gas output ꟷ or net production ꟷ to 650mn ft³/d by the end of 2026 in phase one. It is unclear if this stronger-than-anticipated start-up rate could translate into a higher end-2026 target. A second phase is scheduled to come on stream in 2027, to lift production to 2bn ft³/d by the end of the decade, Aramco has said. Aramco has an ambitious programme to expand gas production by more than 80pc by the end of the decade, relative to a 2021 baseline of 9.2bn ft³/d. This implies output of at least 14.7bn ft³/d by 2030, with Jafurah delivering more than one-third of the increase. Jafurah will also produce about 420mn ft³/d of ethane and 630,000 b/d of NGLs and condensate as by-products by 2030. The ethane and NGLs will be sent to the Riyas fractionation plant, which is being built as part of the phase two development. The condensate will be sent to the Juaymah terminal, where Aramco is expanding its storage and export facilities. By Nader Itayim Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Kazakhstan plans LPG output expansion

Export ban extension

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