“The agreement we have at the moment is that Kazakhstan will keep up to 30% of the petroleum products that are in demand here, gasoline and diesel. The rest will be sent to Russia,” Akkenzhenov stated at a press conference held this Tuesday in the Kazakh capital, Astana.

The minister added that crude oil deliveries can begin immediately, in rail tankers, because the refinery, located in the city of Aksay, is not connected to the Russian and Kazakh pipeline networks.

The volume of deliveries will therefore depend on rail transport capacity.

Operational since 1998, the Condensate refinery produces approximately 850,000 tons of gasoline and diesel annually.

Ukraine has intensified its drone attacks against oil refineries in the Russian rear in recent months. Gasoline sales restrictions have been imposed in several regions of Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged last June that Ukrainian drone and missile attacks on critical infrastructure within the country, particularly on energy sector facilities, are causing “damage” and that there is currently “some shortage” of fuel in the domestic market.

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