The Kashag glycerol field is located in the shallow waters of the Caspian Sea, about 80 kilometers away from the city of Atyrau. The water depth in the area is 3 to 4 meters, and the reservoir depth is about 4200 meters. Its estimated recoverable oil reserves are between 9 billion and 13 billion barrels, equivalent to 1 billion to 2 billion tons, making it one of the largest oil discoveries in the world in recent decades. The production facilities of oil fields include offshore and onshore installations, and how to handle associated gas is a key link in the development chain in the long run. On November 6, 2026, during the visit of Chairman Zamauf of Kazakhstan National Natural Gas Company to China, a FEED+EPCC contract was signed, and the second natural gas processing plant in Kashagan entered the implementation track.

China Kazakhstan consortium accepts orders

QazaqGaz Processing LLP, a subsidiary of QazaqGaz, has entrusted the overall front-end engineering design, procurement, construction, and commissioning of the second processing plant in Kashagan to a consortium of four parties. The Chinese members are Sinochem Sixth Construction Kazakhstan Branch and China Fifth Ring Road, while the Kazakh members are AVC Production LLP and C-NRG (Synergy) LLP. The scope of the contract extends from preliminary design to commissioning and delivery, covering the entire project process. As early as June 2026, it was confirmed that China National Chemical Sixth Construction and China Fifth Ring Road would jointly undertake the project as members of the consortium, and this signing will officially translate the cooperation into the contract text. During Zamauf's visit to China, he held talks with Chinese partners on project construction and witnessed the signing, demonstrating the importance that Kazakhstan attaches to the project. The consortium structure takes into account China's engineering design and construction capabilities, as well as Kazakhstan's local resources and coordination advantages, providing organizational support for the project's advancement within Kazakhstan.

Annual processing of 2.5 billion cubic meters

The new factory is based on the raw gas from the Kashgar glycerol gas field, with a designed annual processing capacity of 2.5 billion cubic meters. According to the previous introduction by Kazakhstan's Minister of Energy Akkenenov, the project is planned to be completed by 2030. This scale will significantly enhance the processing and export capacity of Kashagan associated gas, reduce venting and resource waste, and provide downstream support for further releasing production capacity in the oilfield. Since the development of Kashgar glycerol field, the insufficient associated gas processing capacity has once constrained the pace of crude oil production. The construction of a new processing plant will alleviate this bottleneck. For Kazakhstan, enhancing natural gas processing capacity not only serves the stable production of oil fields, but also helps to increase domestic natural gas supply and export potential. As a national natural gas company, QazaqGaz is improving the industrial chain from gas fields to users through the construction of a series of processing facilities. Keywords: Central Asia News Network, Natural Gas Processing Plant, Kazakhstan

First factory pioneers exploration

Prior to the second processing plant, Kashagan's first natural gas processing plant was already under construction with a designed annual processing capacity of 1 billion cubic meters. It was implemented by GPC Investment LLP, a subsidiary of QazaqGaz, and is expected to be put into operation in 2027. Huayou Huibopu, as the technical leader, is responsible for core design, key equipment integration, and system debugging. The core equipment has completed modular manufacturing and integration testing in Tianjin. Huayou Huibopu recently led a team to Kazakhstan for in-depth research on the Kashagan project and conducted business negotiations with QazaqGaz. The engineering experience and local resources accumulated by the first factory will provide reference for the promotion of the second processing plant. Two processing plants form a hierarchical construction pattern, with the first plant being put into operation first and the second plant continuing to advance. The associated gas processing capacity of Kashgar glycerol field will gradually match the scale of crude oil production. From a longer-term perspective, the establishment of this processing plant cluster will enhance Kazakhstan's natural gas processing and utilization level in the Caspian Sea region, providing infrastructure support for the diversification of the country's energy industry.Editor/Gao Xue