ALMATY, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Kazakhstan plans to more than double its annual oil refining capacity from 18 million metric tons to 39 million metric tons by 2040 under a new development plan for the country's oil refining industry, the Kazakh Energy Ministry said Monday.
The ratio of oil production to refining is expected to improve from 5:1 to 2.5:1, Nazym Bekbatyrova, head of the ministry's oil refining and petroleum products production department, said on the sidelines of the 13th Downstream Central Asia & Caspian Summit in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan.
The plan focuses on six key areas: ensuring the domestic supply of petroleum products, increasing petrochemical output, developing applied science, strengthening the industry's workforce, adapting the oil industry to modern technologies, and expanding export opportunities, Bekbatyrova said.
The plan requires 15 billion to 19 billion U.S. dollars in investment to expand refining capacity, raise the ratio of oil processing from 89 to 94 percent, upgrade motor fuels to a higher environmental standard, and increase benzene and paraxylene production, she said. ■