Kazakh's Caspian Port Gets Big Boost

The Kazakh national oil & gas company, KazMunaiGas, plans to invest $165 million of its own capital in the reconstruction of the Atyrau oil refinery which is the only Kazakhstani port on the Caspian Sea, the company's managing director Aidan Karibzhanov reported.

The total cost of the reconstruction is nearly $400 million. Earlier, the comany attracted a $235 million credit for the plant reconstruction that started in 2003 and is to be completed by 2006. The reconstruction will allow the Atyrau plant, built in the 1940's, to increase the oil refinery at 1.5 m tons of oil up to some 4.3 m tons. Last year the Atyrau plant planned to refine some 2.1 m tons of oil.