The Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan has banned the export of a number of categories of oil products from the country until December 31, 2024. The restrictions will affect not only gasoline, but also diesel fuel, its cheap alternative - gas oil, as well as jet fuel, bitumen and the solvent toluene. The ban will not affect the common customs space of the EAEU, reports Ia-centr.ru.
March restrictions on fuel exports from Kazakhstan are the third in the last three months. On January 20, the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan banned the export of gasoline, diesel and other petroleum products by road, and in February imposed a full embargo for four months.
In 2022, the government linked similar restrictions on fuel exports to countering smuggling. Nevertheless, as experts note, such measures will not help to defeat gray exports.
First, smuggling will exist as long as there is a difference between the prices of oil products in Kazakhstan and neighboring countries.
Secondly, the ban does not apply to the EAEU, while it is with Russia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan that the difference in prices for diesel alone reaches 30%.
Another possible reason for the restrictions is an attempt to send more oil produced for export. In 2022, Kazakhstan produced 84.2 million tons of oil. Of these, 65.2 million tons were exported, and the processing volume amounted to about 18 million tons - approximately 21.4% of all produced volumes. In 2023, the Ministry of Energy planned to export 71 million tons, with an estimated production volume of 90.5 million tons.
However, already at the beginning of the year, Astana encountered difficulties and delayed the delivery of the first batch of oil to Germany.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
March 30, 2023