Caspi Bitum plant to reopen after modernization on May 5 – Energy MinistryCaspi Bitum plant, a road bitumen producer located in the city of Aktay, west Kazakhstan, will resume operations on May 5, 2025 after completion of a major modernization project, the Energy Ministry announced."The government of Kazakhstan is launching the largest road bitumen producer in Central Asia – Caspi Bitum plant, a joint venture between KazMunayGas (KMG) and CITIC Resources Holdings Limited – after completing a large-scale modernization project in Aktau. The reopening ceremony will take place on May 5, 2025," the ministry said in a statement.The modernization project, the cost of which is 36.1 billion tenge, will allow the plant to increase the processing capacity from 1 to 1.5 million tonnes of crude oil from the Karazhanbas field. Also, the production capacity of the plant will grow by 50% or from 500,000 to 750,000 tonnes of road bitumen a year.The project involved the installation of new high-tech equipment specifically designed to process heavy Karazhanbas crude oil, the dismantling of outdated units and the implementation of large-scale construction work, which has now been fully finished. More than 300 workers and specialists have worked on the project.According to the Energy Ministry, start-up and adjustment work are underway at Caspi Bitum plant: crude oil is being received, the processing equipment and the control systems are being tested.Aktau Bitumen Plant, which was put into operation in 2013, is managed by the Kazakh-Chinese JV Caspi Bitum LLP, which is owned by National Company KazMunayGas JSC (50%) and CITIC Kazakhstan LLP (50%). The feedstock is supplied to the plant through the pipeline from the Karazhanbas oil field.In October 2023, during President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s visit to China, Kazakhstan’s National Company KazMunayGas and Cina’s CITIC Group signed an agreement to expand the capacity of Caspi Bitum plant in 2024-2025, aimed at meeting domestic bitumen demand. (ICE ALMATY)

Fonte notizia: INTERFAX