On April 13, 2026, a letter of appointment from the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan completely shifted the fate of the Karachaganak gas field to the east. While the processing plant in Orenburg, Russia is still receiving raw materials from Kazakhstan, QazaqGaz and CITIC Construction are already planning a natural gas processing hub of Kazakhstan's own.

Annual processing capacity of 5 billion cubic meters has been determined

QazaqGaz has been designated as the sole operator of the project and will collaborate with CITIC Construction to advance front-end engineering design. The original annual production capacity of 4 billion cubic meters has been increased to 5 billion cubic meters, and the economic feasibility report has been approved. The coordination of land, pipeline network, and raw material supply has been launched simultaneously. This factory has been included in the core list of Kazakhstan's 2029 natural gas development plan, with Shell and Eni previously excluded.

Get rid of Orenburg processing dependency

The Karachaganak oil and gas field has a natural gas reserve of 1.35 trillion cubic meters, but it has long sent raw materials to Orenburg, Russia for contract manufacturing, with relevant agreements locked in until 2038. The absence of local processing plants has put the commercial gas consumption in Kazakhstan under control. The new project directly targets this weakness, aiming to bring high value-added processing back to the domestic market and cut off rigid dependence on overseas facilities. Key words: the Belt and Road news network, China Kazakhstan cooperation, natural gas field infrastructure

CITIC Construction has been deeply involved in Central Asia for 20 years

CITIC Construction has been operating in Kazakhstan for nearly 20 years, and benchmark projects such as the Caspian Asphalt Plant have accumulated profound localization experience for it. The collaboration with QazaqGaz this time is not only a key step in expanding its energy infrastructure in Central Asia, but also in line with China's strategy to deepen energy coordination with its neighboring countries. The equity structure of KPO, the original operator of the gas field, is complex, and the intervention of the new factory will redefine the interests of the regional natural gas industry chain.Editor/Gao Xue