Drivers in Aktau are complaining about a shortage of liquefied petroleum gas at the city's petrol stations. According to them, long queues at filling stations start in the morning, and some spend several hours in them.
As reported by Bes.media citing journalist Botagoz Omarova, the shortage is not limited to just one petrol station – there is no gas across the entire city.
"I am currently in Aktau. I don't know where the akim, Kilybai, is looking. He hid yesterday; I wanted to ask him questions. This is the kind of chaos happening at the filling station. And this is at several of them. There isn't enough gas; people are queuing, and that's been the case since 7 in the morning. I'm driving around Aktau today and I'm seeing all of this," said Botagoz Omarova.
For their part, JSC NC "KazMunayGas" (KMG) commented on the current situation. According to them, the shortage arose due to the incorrect distribution of fuel.
"Everything that is allocated and distributed to us according to the ministry's schedule, we fulfil. As of today, production is ahead of schedule. All of the volume we produce is fully directed to the domestic market. However, queues periodically arise, which is already related to distribution issues. As producers, we supply all the liquefied gas produced by the KazMunayGas plants to the market," reported the chairman of the management board of KMG, Askhat Khasenov.
It has become known that in November, 17,000 tonnes of liquefied gas were allocated for the Mangystau region: 16,500 tonnes from the resources of the Kazakh Gas Processing Plant (KazGPP) and 500 tonnes from the Atyrau Oil Refinery (ANPZ). Later, KazGPP allocated an additional 300 tonnes of gas, and PetroKazakhstan Oil Products LLP (PKOP) provided 828 tonnes of gas.
"According to information from KazGPP, 10,713 tonnes have already been shipped to the region, which is 65% of the planned volume. ANPZ has shipped 135 tonnes, equivalent to 27% of the allocated volume. The remaining stock of liquefied gas in the region is 1,158 tonnes, while the average daily demand is 600 tonnes. There are restrictions at auto gas filling stations (AGFS): out of 462 AGFS, sales are only possible at 134, whereas 328 stations have no gas," the statement reads.
Recall that in Kazakhstan, a ban on the export of liquefied petroleum gas was introduced on 14 November for 6 months.