Kazakhstan's Atyrau Oil Refinery Plans to Process 3.6 Million Tons of Crude Oil Annually, Producing 1.2 Million Tons of Gasoline

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Kazakhstan's Atyrau Oil Refinery plans to process 3.6 million tons of crude oil annually and produce 1.2 million tons of gasoline.

The Atyrau Oil Refinery is the oldest oil refining enterprise in Kazakhstan, founded on September 8, 1945, with an initial designed annual processing capacity of 800,000 tons. Located in the Atyrau Region in western Kazakhstan, it is controlled by KazMunayGas (KMG), the national oil and gas company of Kazakhstan, and is one of the country's three major oil refining enterprises. After two rounds of upgrades and renovations from the 1960s to the 1980s, its annual processing capacity was increased to 4.3 million tons. In 2008, the refinery actually processed 3.9 million tons of crude oil, with a processing depth of only 52.05%.

Since 2009, in line with Kazakhstan's innovation plan and the modernization needs of its refineries, the Atyrau Oil Refinery has successively implemented two major upgrade and renovation projects—the aromatics project and the deep oil processing project—with a total investment of US$2.72 billion. Both projects were undertaken by Sinopec Engineering (Group) Co., Ltd. under the EPCC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Commissioning) "turnkey" model. The aromatics project was completed and put into operation in December 2015, making it the only aromatics unit in Kazakhstan, with an annual production capacity of 133,000 tons of benzene and 496,000 tons of para-xylene. The deep oil processing project was transferred to full-scale production trial operation in 2017 and was fully commissioned in 2018. After the renovations were completed, the crude oil processing depth increased from 52% to over 85% (reaching 86.4% in 2023), and daily gasoline output rose from 1,900 tons to 4,500 tons. The refinery has become the one with the widest variety of petrochemical products and the highest quality grades in Kazakhstan, ending the country's long-standing dependence on imports of high-octane gasoline.

According to previously disclosed information from KMG, the Atyrau Oil Refinery processed 5.47 million tons of crude oil in 2025, producing 1.8 million tons of gasoline and over 1.9 million tons of diesel, with a refining depth of 88%. In the first half of 2026, the refinery processed over 2.8 million tons of crude oil, exceeding the plan by 20,000 tons; commercial output reached 2.6 million tons, exceeding the plan by approximately 22,000 tons. Among the main products, motor gasoline output exceeded 1 million tons (plan: 983,500 tons), diesel output exceeded 1 million tons (120,000 tons above plan), aviation fuel output reached 120,300 tons (14,000 tons above plan), and liquefied petroleum gas output reached 115,000 tons. During the reporting period, the refining depth reached a record 91%, with light oil products accounting for 81% of total output.

In July 2026, the refinery completed a large-scale scheduled preventive maintenance overhaul. During the overhaul, technical inspection and assessment were carried out on 20 reactors, 213 vessels, 32 towers, and 231 heat exchange units; some pipelines were replaced, and more than 335 tons of catalysts were replaced across multiple process units. Approximately 1,700 specialists and over 50 pieces of special equipment participated in the overhaul, after which the units resumed receiving crude oil on July 8, 1.5 days ahead of schedule. Currently, the Atyrau Oil Refinery, in parallel with the Pavlodar Petrochemical Plant, is advancing efforts to extend overhaul intervals to improve unit operational reliability.

The Atyrau Oil Refinery currently has a designed annual processing capacity of 5 million tons, and KMG had previously planned to increase capacity to 5.5 million tons through further upgrades. The refinery currently produces up to 35 types of oil products, and plans to continue advancing capacity expansion and environmental protection facility renovations.