Within the framework of his working visit to South Kazakhstan Region, Karim Massimov, visited LLP “PetroKazakhstan Oil Products». 
The President of PetroKazakhstan Oil Products, Jiang Shi and the First Vice-President A. Turisbekov, presented a report on the implementation of a large-scale project, which is included in the government’s Program of Modernization of Refineries in Kazakhstan, to Prime Minister Karim Massimov. The project, “Modernization and reconstruction of the Shymkent oil refinery,” began in 2011, and all works are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2017.
Between January-May 2016, the volume of industrial production of the Shymkent Oil Refinery, in monetary terms, amounted to more than 22 billion tenge. After modernization, the plant will produce high-octane gasoline that will meet the environmental requirements of class K5 (an analog of Euro-5 in EEU countries). The processing capacity of the plant is expected to grow from 5.2 million to 6 million tons of crude oil, with a depth of refinery of up to 90%.
Today, three oil refineries operate in Kazakhstan- in the Pavlodar, Atyrau and South Kazakhstan regions. However, they do not meet the demand of the domestic market.
The Head of State of the Government of Kazakhstan has paid special attention to the issues of development of domestic fuel and energy markets. During Prime Minister Karim Massimov’s working trip to the region, he visited the refineries in Pavlodar and Atyrau, where he also reviewed the progress of modernization and reconstruction, crucial for Kazakhstan’s production levels. In addition, in Atyrau, the Prime Minister held a meeting on issues of the domestic oil service. As a result of the meeting, the Prime Minister instructed the establishment of two working groups, responsible for collecting and summarizing weak spots, and working out concrete proposals to address the challenges within a month. 
The modernization of all three of Kazakhstan’s refineries are expected to provide import substitution in Kazakhstan’s automotive fuel market by 2018.
For reference:
According to the Ministry of National Economy of Kazakhstan, from January-June 2016: 1,527 million tons of gasoline (13.6% more than in the same period of 2015); 2,370 million tons of diesel fuel (grew by 10.6%); 1,408 million tons of fuel oil (decreased by 13.5% ) were produced. 
During the first half of the year, Kazakhstan refineries produced 13.6% more petrol, 10.6% more diesel than in the previous year.
After decreasing by 29.4% in 2014 and 15.8% in 2015, the positive trend of the first half of this year, a positive trend of optimism has returned to the industry. 
In terms of growth on a regional level, among the three oil refineries, the Pavlodar region is at a lead – plus 63% year-to-year, up to 35.7 billion tenge. Next – Atyrau (plus 55.5% per year, up to 193.7 billion tenge) and the South Kazakhstan Region (plus 25.3%, up to 32.1 billion tenge).
In the oil service market of Kazakhstan, there are more than 1,000 companies, with a total of 160 thousand employees. The oil service accounts for 40-50% of the total procurement of license holders. Therefore, the future of Kazakhstan’s local content and employment depends on development of the service business.