OREANDA-NEWS. Official ceremony of producing the first batch of a new product – paraxylene at the Aromatics Production Complex has taken place at the Atyrau Refinery as part of celebrating the 70th anniversary of the facility.

It was attended by representatives of the RoK’s Ministry of Energy, “Samruk-Kazyna” SWF JSC, JSC NC “KazMunayGas”, JSC “KazMunayGas – Refining and Marketing” and others.

Paraxylene is one of the main and high-demand petrochemical production component, and the Atyrau Refinery has become the largest manufacturer of paraxylene in Central Asia. In 2014 Nursultan Nazarbayev launched the pre-commissioning procedures at the APC.

- Early as this year the Atyrau Refinery has tasked to produce 200 thousand tons more of A-92 gasoline than during the previous year, which, among other things, is a 20% reduction in dependence on imports, - Daniyar Tiyessov, General Director of JSC “KazMunayGas – Refining and Marketing”, said.

He also reminded that the Aromatics Production Complex was put into operation in accordance with the instruction of the Head of the State to establish a domestic petrochemical production, and is being implemented within the state program of industrial and innovation-based development.

Magzum Mirzagaliyev, Vice-Minister of Energy, during his speech at the ceremony, pointed out that the launch of the new complex will lay the foundation for development of a new non-resource industry:

- This will not only improve the fuel quality, but will facilitate the start of manufacturing products with increased added value as well, he said.

On the same day, a solemn meeting devoted to the 70th anniversary of Atyrau Refinery was held in Atyrau.

The history of the plant dates back to 1945 and is a continuous increase of the production volumes and product mix. The leaders of the Ministry of Energy, “Samruk-Kazyna” Fund and “KazMunayGas” National Company have sent their congratulations to the Atyrau Refinery team. These congratulations contain the words of gratitude to the labor veterans and workers of the current generation for their dedication to promoting the country’s energy and economic independence.

During the celebration, a number of labor veterans, workers of the refinery, representatives of contractors were awarded for their contribution to the development of Kazakhstan’s petrochemical industry.