On June 6, Kazakhstan's parliament discussed the development of the gas industry. The chairman of QazaqGaz National Company JSC Sanzhar Zharkeshov warned of the probability of a gas crisis in 2024 and demanded prompt actions, Kazinform reports.

Increasing demand

Kazakhstan ranks 22nd in the world and third among the CIS countries after Russia and Turkmenistan in terms of gas reserves. However, gas consumption within the country is growing steadily from 2017 to 2021; the increase amounted to about 35% or an average of 7% annually. According to Zharkeshov, domestic market demand will surpass the available gas reserves by 1.7 billion cubic meters, and if no prompt measures are undertaken, gas export will have to be stopped in 2023.

The Chairman of QazaqGaz National Company said that the growing number of new large consumers may contribute to the gas shortage. Among the few he named were the newly converted gas-fired power plants in Almaty, newly merged gas chemical facilities, and new commercial consumers.

In this regard, the Ministry of Energy together with QazaqGaz are working on the legislative introduction of new categories of consumers: large commercial consumers and persons engaged in digital mining. "White" miners are planned to be organized into a separate category of consumers. In case of a shortage of electricity in the country, the ministry can switch off the miners from the electricity supply, the energy minister of Kazakhstan Bulat Akchulakov said during the governmental hour in the parliament.

Moreover, the state policy of price containment may be the main deterrent to the development of the country’s gas industry, Akchulakov said. The policy may lead to a dependence on imported resources by 2025.

The state regulation of gas prices was introduced in January 2022 after the unrest in the country.