The Ministry of Trade and Integration is continuing laboratory testing of the quality of petrol following complaints received from citizens. The inspection covers fuel both at the production stage and at subsequent stages of distribution up to sale to the consumer.
WHAT IS BEING TESTED IN THE LABORATORIES
The territorial department of the committee for technical regulation and metrology of the Ministry of Trade and Integration for the Pavlodar region has transferred arbitration samples of petrol, taken directly from the Pavlodar Petrochemical Plant, to an independent laboratory.
Separately, specialists are testing fuel samples with additives from Sinoil, QazaqOil and Helios. The results of these tests are expected within a week.
HOW MANY COMPLAINTS HAVE BEEN RECEIVED
There are currently 12 complaints from citizens being processed:
- Astana — 9 complaints;
- Pavlodar — 1 complaint;
- North Kazakhstan Region — 2 complaints.
In addition, specialists carried out test purchases at 17 petrol stations:
- Almaty — 5 petrol stations;
- Almaty Region — 5 petrol stations;
- Abai Region — 6 petrol stations;
- Zhambyl Region — 1 petrol station.
The samples taken are undergoing laboratory testing.
HOW THE FUEL'S JOURNEY TO THE CONSUMER WILL BE CHECKED
As part of the inspection, specialists will take samples across the entire fuel distribution chain, including oil storage depots. According to the ministry, the necessary regulatory and technical documents, state standards and testing laboratories are available for the research.
This approach allows the quality of petrol to be assessed not only at the point of production, but also at subsequent stages of its distribution.
WHAT MEASURES ARE PROVIDED FOR IN CASE OF VIOLATIONS
If the tests establish that petrol does not meet the requirements of the technical regulations, the measures provided for by law will be taken. These include a ban on the sale and withdrawal of fuels and lubricants that do not meet the requirements.
CONTEXT
The inspection was preceded by numerous complaints from drivers about vehicle performance after refuelling with AI-95 and AI-98 petrol.
Vehicle owners reported various problems: cars were difficult to start, the engine ran unevenly, there were misfires and fuel mixture errors.
Among the vehicles whose owners reported such problems, staff at service stations named BMW, Audi, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and cars of Chinese brands.
Later, Minister of Energy, Erlan Akkenzhenov, reported that the ministry was aware of the complaints. According to him, the Ministry of Energy is keeping this matter under control.
Earlier, tests of arbitration samples carried out on 25 August 2026 at the Pavlodar Petrochemical Plant confirmed that the samples tested met the established requirements.
