Kazakhstan and Bavaria Strengthen Energy Partnership on Oil and Green Hydrogen

Kazakhstan's Minister of Energy, Yerlan Akkenshenov, has held talks with Bavaria's Minister for European and International Affairs, Eric Beisswenger. The meeting focused on expanding bilateral cooperation in the energy sector, with a particular emphasis on increasing Kazakh oil supplies.

Akkenshenov highlighted the systematic and multi-faceted nature of Kazakhstan-Germany relations. He noted that collaboration spans traditional energy, oil refining, engineering, renewable energy development, and promising new areas such as green hydrogen.

A key topic was the supply of Kazakh oil to the PCK refinery in Schwedt. Thanks to previously reached agreements, shipments via the Druzhba pipeline are showing steady growth: from over 1 million tons in 2023 to a projected 2.1 million tons in 2025. The goal is to increase this volume to 2.5 million tons by 2026.

The role of Siemens Energy in modernizing Kazakhstan's power infrastructure was also underscored. A current project involves the reconstruction of the Almaty CHP-2 plant, which includes the supply and installation of gas turbine equipment and training for Kazakh specialists. Similar cooperation is underway for the construction of a combined-cycle power plant in Turkistan.

Renewable energy development remains a significant area of partnership. German companies Goldbeck Solar GmbH and Solarnet Investment GmbH are implementing solar generation projects with a total capacity of 176 MW in the Karaganda region.

The strategic HYRASIA ONE project in the Mangystau region holds particular importance. It envisages large-scale production of green hydrogen and ammonia through the construction of wind and solar power plants with a capacity of up to 40 GW and an electrolyzer complex up to 20 GW. The potential annual output could reach 2 million tons of hydrogen.

Following the meeting, both sides confirmed their mutual interest in deepening the partnership further. They noted the stable dynamics of bilateral energy cooperation and its alignment with global goals for energy transition and sustainable development.