In January-March 2024, the Kazakh company "KazTransOil" (a subsidiary of "KazMunayGas") transited 2.507 million tons of Russian oil to China compared to 2.396 million tons in the same period of 2023, which is 4.6% more, Kursiv reports.
"In the first quarter of 2024, JSC "KazTransOil" transited Russian oil to China via the Atasu-Alashankou main oil pipeline in the amount of 2.507 million tons.
In January, the transit of Russian oil to China amounted to 855.6 thousand tons, in February - 816.2 thousand tons, in March - 835.6 thousand tons. At the same time, Kazakh oil companies exported to China in the first quarter via the Atasu-Alashankou pipeline 282 thousand tons of oil (94.4 thousand tons in January, 89.7 thousand tons in February, and 97.9 thousand tons in March). In the first quarter of 2023, Kazakhstan exported 368.4 thousand tons (83.2 thousand tons in January, 80.4 thousand tons in February, and 204.8 thousand tons in March). Thus, the export of Kazakh oil to China in the first quarter of this year decreased by 23.5 percentage points compared to January-March 2023.
Before the transit of Russian oil through Kazakhstan to China, the republic exported significantly larger volumes of oil to neighboring countries. For example, according to customs statistics, in 2013, Kazakhstan exported 11.2 million tons of oil to China worth $8.7 billion. In 2013, the Chinese direction of export was second only to Italy, the long-standing leader in the consumption of Kazakh oil, which imported 19.7 million tons for $16.2 billion. After the start of Russian transit through Kazakhstan to China, Kazakhstan's own exports to China sharply decreased. For comparison, in 2023, Kazakhstan exported 5.7 million tons of oil to China worth $3.8 billion, significantly lagging behind Italy - 24.2 million tons for $14.5 billion.
In 2023, the volume of transit of Russian oil through the territory of Kazakhstan to China amounted to 9.989 million tons. From 2014 to 2023, "KazTransOil" provided transit to China of 91 million tons of Russian oil.
The Kazakh company has been transiting Russian oil to China through the territory of Kazakhstan since 2014 under the Kazakh-Russian intergovernmental agreement signed on December 24, 2013. In 2022, "KazTransOil" extended its contract with Rosneft until December 31, 2033, for the provision of services for the transportation of Russian oil through Kazakhstan to China. Minister of Energy Almasadam Satkaliyev reported in March that Kazakhstan will receive $1.71 billion for the transit of Russian oil to China in 2024-2033.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
April 9, 2024