Kazakhstan-China's Caspi Bitum to Complete Expansion in Q2

The launch of the Caspi Bitum LLP joint venture, following the completion of the project to expand oil-refining capacities, is planned for the second quarter of 2025, according to the press service of JSC National Company KazMunayGas (KMG).

"Completion of the operations and launch of the plant with the start of the full technological mode of bitumen production is planned for the second quarter of this year," KMG Management Board Chairman Askhat Khasenov said following his working visit to the Mangystau Region, The Caspian Post reports citing Interfax.

Khasenov was acquainted with implementing the project at the plant to increase capacity to 1.5 million tonnes of oil per year by upgrading the primary oil-refining unit ELOU-AVT. This will increase the annual production of road bitumen from 500,000 tonnes to 750,000 tonnes.

Today, dismantling works and pouring of the foundation have been fully completed, work is underway to install equipment, pipelines, electrical equipment and instrumentation equipment, control and measuring devices and automation. The delivery of equipment to the site is planned to be completed by mid-March. To accelerate the pace of project implementation, the contractor undertakes to carry out construction and installation works around the clock.

The operations, which began in November 2024, is being carried out by the general contractor - CITIC Construction, a subsidiary of the Chinese CITIC Group. Investments in the project have exceeded $76 million.

The project was previously planned to be completed at the end of 2024, then it was reported that the launch had been postponed to the beginning of 2025, before the start of the road construction season.

Caspi Bitum JV LLP was established by KazMunayGas and CITIC Kazakhstan LLP on a parity basis. The plant is the largest producer of road bitumen in Central Asia, built in Aktau in 2010-2013, and has been operating since December 2013. The raw material for the enterprise is oil from the fields of JSC Karazhanbasmunai.

An agreement was signed in October 2023during the visit of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to China between KMG and CITIC Group, providing for implementing Caspi Bitum expansion project.

Kazakhstan's Pavlodar Petrochemical Plant and two more private plants produce bitumen at the Aktau plant, and around one million tonnes of road bitumen are produced in the country annually in general.