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According to Sinochem New Network, recently Kazakhstan’s Energy Minister Yerlan Akenzhanov announced that the country aims to more than double its crude oil processing capacity by 2040, through a combination of building new large-scale refineries and expanding existing facilities. Kazakhstan’s current oil refining capacity is 18 million tons per year. Akenzhenov revealed that the increase in production capacity will be carried out in stages: between 2025 and 2032, the refining capacity will be raised to 30 million tons per year through the expansion of existing facilities; by 2040, another large refinery with an annual capacity of 10 million tons will come online, bringing the total capacity to 40 million tons per year, which is double the current level. The expansion of production capacity has also led to an increase in the targets for refined oil production; the country plans to raise refined oil output from the estimated 14.55 million tons this year to 29.2 million tons by 2040, doubling the current level. The country previously revealed that this series of expansion plans will require an investment of $15 billion to $19 billion, aimed not only at increasing production capacity but also at significantly boosting processing efficiency. It is worth noting that although Kazakhstan has repeatedly stated its commitment to complying with the OPEC+ production cut agreement, as a non-OPEC member country it has continued to produce more oil than allowed for many years, and has yet to fully make up for that excess production. This year, thanks to expansion projects involving international energy giants such as Chevron, its crude oil production has increased further, and the trend of overproduction continues. (Shi Jingwen)