Kazakhstan to provide 56 percent of population with natural gas
By Vusala Abbasova
Kazakhstan intends to provide 56 percent of the population with natural gas by 2030, Vice Minister of Energy Bakhytzhan Dzhaksaliyev said at the 48th meeting of the CIS Electric Power Council held in Almaty on October 23.
For this purpose, the General Scheme of gas supply in the country has been developed, which will increase the use of gas from 11 to 18 billion cubic meters.
As a result, the number of cities and villages with access to gas will increase from 1,150 to 1,600, while the volume of gas consumption will rise from 12.4 billion cubic meters in 2014 to 18 billion in 2030
In accordance with the general plan, the number of subscribers will increase from 1.4 million to 2.9 million units.
As many as 13 regions will be provided with natural gas from 42 percent to 56 percent by the end of 2030.
Dzhaksaliyev added that the volume of exported oil amounted to 62.4 million tons in Kazakhstan in the past year, while gas production amounted to 43.2 billion cubic meters.
It was earlier stated that some 656 billion tenge ($3.528 billion) would be invested to implement the program.
Currently, 10 out of 16 regions of Kazakhstan, including all western and southern regions, and the city of Almaty are supplied with gas.
Around 72 percent of the country's energy needs are met by natural gas. Although the production volume allows the country to meet its needs for gas, the southern regions of Kazakhstan are still dependent on gas imports due to undeveloped pipeline infrastructure.
Therefore, the country intends to increase the supply of gas from the construction of new gas pipelines, which the total length will grow by more than 2 times from 28,000 to 57,000 kilometers, according to first Deputy Minister of Energy Uzakbay Karabalin.
The internal consumption of gas in the country is met by the import of around 36 percent of Kazakhstan's gas demands from neighboring Uzbekistan to southern Kazakhstan, and Russia.
Geographically, 98 percent of Kazakhstan's gas reserves are located in the subsoil of western Kazakhstan, in the Mangistau, Atyrau, western Kazakhstan and the Aktobe regions. Over 75 percent of Kazakhstan's natural gas is concentrated in four large fields: Kashagan, Tengiz, Karachaganak and Imashevskoye.
The Kazakh oil and gas sector is one of the principal components of the national economy. Kazakhstan's reserves amount to around 3.9 trillion cubic meters of gas, which places Kazakhstan at 14th place in the worldwide reserves and 4th place in the CIS countries, according to the International Comparative Legal Guides.
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