A greener Kazakh economy with KazTransGas

The EBRD and Kazakhstan’s national gas operator, KazTransGas, have agreed to join forces in supporting the country’s drive towards a green economy.

According to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in Astana in October 2016, the two partners will explore ways to promote energy efficiency in the gas sector. A more efficient use of energy and reduced losses will strengthen energy security and help Kazakhstan cut greenhouse gas emissions. The EBRD and KazTransGas, which is mainly engaged in the transportation, sale, exploration and production of natural gas in Kazakhstan, will examine specific possibilities for modernisation and energy efficiency improvements in gas compressor stations and gas networks, systems responsible for the monitoring and control of fugitive greenhouse gas emissions and of supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems.

The EBRD is a leader in sustainable energy investments, including in other countries of Central Asia and eastern Europe with similar energy efficiency challenges, and in research and technical cooperation related to energy and resource efficiency. The cooperation framework will allow KazTransGas to benefit from EBRD expertise in this area.

The two parties started cooperating in May 2016, when the EBRD committed nearly €300 million to two landmark projects in Kazakhstan aimed at the modernisation of gas networks and the fuel switch from coal to gas for heat and power generation with the upgrade of the Bozoi underground gas storage to help it reach full capacity.