"Let this pearl on the" the Belt and Road "shine" (jointly building the "the Belt and Road" - the first scene) flourish | post station | pearl

Chimkent is an important city in southern Kazakhstan, once a relay station on the ancient Silk Road, and has witnessed the history of friendly exchanges between China and the people of Central Asia. Today, thanks to the implementation of the modernization of Shymkent Refinery, a key cooperation project of the "the Belt and Road" jointly built by China and Kazakhstan, this ancient city has taken on a new look. Tom, an 82 year old senior expert and chief technical consultant at Global Oil Company in the United States, who participated in the modernization project of the refinery, said with deep emotion, "This is one of the best projects I have participated in in my career." After the refinery renovation and upgrading, it has provided strong support for the economic and social development of Kazakhstan. Recently, our reporter walked into the Chimkent refinery and truly felt the vitality contained here.

"Kazakhstan's most stable crude oil processing enterprise"

In February 2014, the modernization of the Chimkent refinery was officially launched. In June 2017, the first phase of the renovation project was completed and put into operation, greatly improving the crude oil processing capacity. It became the first enterprise in Kazakhstan to produce Euro IV and Euro V standard refined oil. This not only made Chimkent Refinery enter the ranks of green and environmentally friendly refineries, but also ended Kazakhstan's history of not being able to produce high-grade fuel.

In September of the same year, two other major refineries in Kazakhstan shut down due to accidents, resulting in a shortage of gasoline supply in Kazakhstan. At that time, the refinery was in a critical period of renovation, and the pressure was very high to ensure normal construction while increasing production beyond the plan as required. The refinery project department urgently studies and adjusts the production plan, striving to increase production while ensuring safety in production. From September to December 2017, the refinery was operating at full capacity, processing approximately 343000 tons of crude oil and producing nearly 160000 tons of various types of gasoline and diesel, effectively meeting market demand.

In September 2018, the second phase of the project was completed and put into operation. The Chimkent Refinery not only greatly improved its level of informatization and automation, but also increased its crude oil production capacity to 6 million tons per year. In 2020, the light oil yield exceeded 80%, and the daily gasoline production net increased by more than 2300 tons, becoming a modern refinery with international advanced level. "In the month of producing qualified products, the Kazakh government announced that domestic high-quality fuel oil would become self-sufficient, temporarily suspending fuel oil imports, and planning to export to other Central Asian countries." Jiang Yen, General Manager of PetroChina Chimkent Refining Company, told reporters.

In 2022, the refinery optimized its operation plan, strictly implemented equipment special protection measures, increased production and supply at full capacity, and achieved an annual maximum processing capacity of 6.206 million tons. The production of gasoline, diesel, and fuel oil accounted for 40%, 35%, and 32% of the total market in Kazakhstan, respectively. The market share of aviation kerosene reached 60%, playing an important role in ensuring local oil supply and making positive contributions to promoting economic development. It is known as the "most stable crude oil processing enterprise in Kazakhstan". In September 2022, Kazakhstani President Tokayev visited the refinery and affirmed the quality and market share of its products. "The Chimkent refinery renovation project is an example of energy cooperation between Kazakhstan and China," said Yoshino Sov, then Senior Vice President of Kazakhstan National Oil and Gas Company

Production manager Ruslan is an old employee who grew up in the refinery. He admitted to reporters, "If we continue the old refinery work model, we may stay in the last century." He said that Chinese management led everyone to innovate, using new processes and processes, and promoting high-level development of the enterprise.

"This is Kazakhstan's first carbon trading"

Unlike traditional refineries, walking into the Chimkent refinery area, the clean roads are lined with lush greenery, with occasional birds flying by and fresh air, refreshing and refreshing. Since participating in the operation of the Chimkent refinery, PetroChina has achieved the best safety and environmental performance among the three major refineries in Kazakhstan, and has won numerous safety and environmental awards from the President of Kazakhstan.

In a corner of Jiang Yen's office, there is a neatly arranged row of test tube shaped bottles, with liquids of different colors and viscosities inside. He told reporters that this is the different state of oil being extracted from underground and refined into gasoline, diesel, and fuel oil. Next to these liquids, a bottle of golden particles is curious. Jiang Yen told reporters that this is sulfur, which is a product of desulfurization and recovery in refineries.

According to Chen Wei, the deputy chief engineer of the project, the proportion of funds used for harmless treatment of wastewater, exhaust gas, and solid waste exceeds 10% in the total investment in renovation. After the renovation, the pollutants emitted by the refinery have been reduced by 90%. The newly built heavy oil catalytic cracking unit adopts the world's advanced Berg flue gas desulfurization technology and PetroChina's low-temperature Claus sulfur recovery process with independent intellectual property rights to recover sulfur. Recycling 15000 tons of sulfur annually and reducing sulfur dioxide emissions by 30000 tons. Chen Wei pointed to the towering chimney not far away and said that all the emissions are now water vapor. Residents, environmental volunteers, experts, and others around the refinery are often invited to enter the workshop and factory area to see how the refinery conducts environmental protection operations, and to plant trees and forests in the refinery isolation area with refinery employees. The clean production environment and green living scenes have won the trust of the local people with tangible achievements in the refinery.

Kazakhstan officially implemented a greenhouse gas emission quota system in 2021, opening up carbon emissions trading and allowing companies to sell their remaining carbon emission targets domestically. In September 2022, with shareholder approval, Chimkent Refinery completed its first carbon emission target transaction. Jiang Yen said, "This is Kazakhstan's first carbon trading, marking the official launch of the country's carbon trading business, which is of great significance for Kazakhstan to promote low-carbon and sustainable development."

"I have confidence in making the refinery develop better"

In the main control room of the refinery, more than ten young local technicians are closely monitoring the operating parameters of various equipment on the large screen, and occasionally issuing commands on the control panel. Ye Erlan, director of the public relations department of Shymkent Refinery, has worked in the refinery for 20 years, and has personally felt the changes brought to the local by the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road": "The transformation project has trained a large number of experienced Kazakh technicians. Some people were born in villages near the refinery. When they were young, they looked at the" steel forest "at home and buried their dreams of working in the refinery. The vigorous development of the refinery not only enabled the sheep herders to realize their dreams, but also provided them with many learning opportunities to help them gradually grow into managers."

In the process of modernizing the refinery, in order to accelerate the talent cultivation of the local catalytic cracking unit, the refinery has developed a detailed training and learning plan, and selected Chinese technical experts to guide employees one-on-one on site. Over the years, Ruslan has visited China multiple times for further education and has participated in various aspects of refinery renovation, including design, construction, and commissioning. "Studying in China has benefited me greatly. Chinese enterprises have made rapid technological progress, making me feel the power of technology. With the help of our Chinese peers, we have mastered advanced technology in the field of petroleum refining and have confidence in making refineries develop better," said Ruslan.

Walking in the office area, the high-frequency word "hello" with a slight foreign accent is heard by reporters. Hu Hongmin, Deputy General Manager of PetroChina Central Asia Russia Company, introduced that PetroChina has created over 30000 job opportunities in Kazakhstan and currently employs 25000 local employees. The localization rate of cooperative project employees is as high as 98%. China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) also sponsors hundreds of outstanding Kazakhstani students to go to China and other countries for training and education. At the exit of the refinery office building, there are family portraits of ordinary employees pasted on the walls, each smiling face displaying their satisfaction with work and joy in life.

Based on the new stage of development, refineries will make efforts in green and low-carbon transformation, intelligent manufacturing technology innovation, and the enhancement of modern corporate governance capabilities. Jiang Yen said, "We have a stronger sense of mission to build the Shymkent oil refining project into a leading and international level oil refining project in Central Asia, and build Central Asia into a core oil and gas cooperation zone along the the Belt and Road, making this pearl on the the Belt and Road shine."