Fuel Prices Soar in Kazakhstan
Rewritten Article:
Taking a look at Kazakhstan's oil sector over January to August, we see a 6.7% plummet in diesel production, as reported by Almaty.tv, referencing Liter.kz. On a brighter note, gasoline production witnessed a 3.3% upward trend during the same period.
A study conducted by EnergyProm sheds light on the total oil processing products in Kazakhstan between January and July 2020, revealing a 9% decrease compared to 2019, amounting to 10.2 million tons. The top-tier regions, home to the vast majority of Kazakh refineries, accounted for a whopping 86.1% of the total output. Notably, Atyrau, Pavlodar, and Shymkent regions recorded 2% less, 13.8% fewer, and 15.4% less production, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Diving a bit deeper, petroleum fuel, distillate and gasoline production over the first eight months of 2020 dropped by 12.8%, reaching 8.1 million tons. Kerosene production plummeted by 34.1% to 278.5 thousand tons, while fuel oil production reduced by 29.2% to 1.4 million tons. However, diesel fuel production slid by 6.7%, while gasoline production surged to 2.9 million tons, inducing a 3.3% growth.
In August 2020, the prices of gasoline escalated by 2.4% compared to the same month in 2019. The Jambyl, Almaty, and Almaty city regions marked the highest rate hikes, recording increases of 5.7%, 4.3%, and 4.2%, respectively.
With regards to gasoline prices, the popular AI-98 experienced a 2.6% boost, following by AI-92 with a 2.5% increase, and AI-95/96 with a 1.2% hike. On the contrary, diesel fuel prices witnessed a minor reduction of 1.2%.
Insights:
- Global Economic Woes: In 2020, the economic downturn wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on oil demand likely disrupted production levels worldwide, including Kazakhstan.
- Oil Refining Management: Kazakhstan has been proactively enhancing its oil refining capacity to boost efficiency and meet domestic demand. However, the specifics of these developments in the first half of 2020 are not explicitly stated in the search results.
- Energy Security and Economic Diversification: Kazakhstan seeks to maintain energy security and foster economic diversity, focusing on the production and refining of petroleum products locally. This strategic approach would have influenced production decisions throughout 2020.
- Market Demand: The demand for diesel fuel and gasoline would have been impacted by lockdowns and travel restrictions, potentially affecting production levels during the aforementioned period.
The finance sector might have been challenged in Kazakhstan due to the global economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on oil demand, disrupting production levels across various industries, including the oil sector. Despite Kazakhstan's efforts to boost oil refining capacity in the finance sector, specific enhancements in the first half of 2020 remain unclear. Furthermore, the energy sector in Kazakhstan continues to prioritize energy security and economic diversification, focusing on the production and refining of petroleum products domestically. These strategic decisions, along with the fluctuating demand for diesel fuel and gasoline due to lockdowns and travel restrictions, likely influenced production trends in the oil industry during the given period.
