BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 3. Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was briefed on the 2026 performance of national gas company QazaqGaz and its development plans for the coming years during a meeting with Chairman of the Management Board Alibek Zhamauov, the press service of the Kazakh president said.
During the meeting, Tokayev was briefed on the supply of natural gas to the country's population and economy, as well as QazaqGaz's full readiness for the 2026-2027 heating season.
Zhamauov reported on ongoing geological exploration work at the Shalkar, Saralzhan, Maldybai, Severny-2, Severny-1, Akkuduk and Pridorozhnoye areas, as part of efforts to implement the president's instructions to step up exploration.
The meeting also covered major infrastructure projects being implemented by the company.
Construction of a gas processing plant at the Kashagan field, with a capacity of 1 billion cubic meters of gas per year, is ongoing. The facility is scheduled to be commissioned in the third quarter of 2027.
For the second line of the Beineu-Bozoi-Shymkent main gas pipeline, engineering design and procurement of equipment and materials are underway, while construction and installation work has begun.
EPC contractors have been selected for two separate projects: a gas processing plant at Kashagan with a capacity of 2.5 billion cubic meters per year and a gas processing plant at Karachaganak designed to process 5 billion cubic meters of gas annually.
Zhamauov also briefed the president on the introduction of digital solutions in the gas sector.
Under the Aqyl Energy initiative, gas metering and supply management processes are being digitalized using modern technologies, including artificial intelligence and data analytics. The company is also continuing the phased replacement of more than 1.3 million gas meters with smart meters.
The meeting also addressed plans to expand gasification in the northern regions, including Kokshetau and Petropavlovsk, and develop the market for natural gas as a motor fuel.
Other projects include the construction of a small-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Rudny with an annual capacity of 50,000 tonnes, as well as the construction of a fourth underground gas storage facility.
Following the meeting, Tokayev issued a number of instructions aimed at ensuring stable gas supplies to households and the economy during the heating season and expanding the resource base for marketable gas.
