en.Wedoany.com Reported - During a working visit to Beijing, Askhat Khassenov, Chairman of the Management Board of Kazakhstan's national oil and gas company KazMunayGas, held a meeting with Xi Guohua, Chairman of CITIC Group. The two sides discussed the operations of Karazhanbasmunai (KBM), a joint venture located in the Mangystau region.

KBM produced 1.018 million tons of oil in the first half of this year.

Replenishing the resource base is a priority for both sides. Currently, the coastal zone is under active development, with 8 appraisal wells and 12 production wells drilled. Following project implementation, geological reserves increased to 12 million tons, and recoverable reserves increased to 3 million tons. After achieving phased results, the initially approved drilling plan of 25 wells has been expanded to 48 wells. Expected additional oil production is 50,000 tons, with a target of 21,000 tons.

The CASPI BITUM plant in Aktau has also completed a large-scale upgrade. Refining capacity has reached 1.5 million tons per year, and road asphalt output has reached 750,000 tons per year. The revamped plant continues to supply asphalt to the domestic market to meet the growing demand from infrastructure construction projects.

The head of KazMunayGas stated that further joint initiatives with CITIC Group will enhance the operational efficiency of existing assets and strengthen the strategic partnership between the two companies.