Reports: Kazakhstan Drops Oil Refinery Plans in Batumi
Kazakh state oil and gas company KazMunaiGas has dropped its plans to build a USD 1 billion oil refinery in Georgia’s port town of Batumi, Reuters reported.
The decision, however, is not linked with the political situation in Georgia, an unnamed source from the company told Reuters.
“We have a lot of interest in many different projects but we rely on economic feasibility when choosing,” the source said. “So you should not drag politics into this one…. Our experts have carefully studied it and decided that it is not feasible.”
Kazakh Agriculture Minister Akylbek Kurishbayev told lawmakers that Astana had dropped plans to build a grain terminal in Georgia’s port town of Poti, citing “the current situation in Georgia.”
Plans for an oil refinery in Batumi first emerged in March 2007, when KazMunaiGas went into partnership with Greenoak Group, the then owner of Batumi oil terminal and sea port. In February 2008, Greenoak Group, however, sold both the oil terminal and sea port in Batumi to KazMunaiGas for an undisclosed sum.
