KazMunaiGas plans environmentally friendly aviation fuel production in Kazakhstan

By Alimat Aliyeva

KazMunaiGas (KMG) plans to establish production of environmentally friendly aviation fuel (SAF) in Kazakhstan, Azernews reports.

“On June 20, Chairman of the Board of KazMunayGas Askhat Khasenov discussed the possibility of creating SAF production in Kazakhstan with the management of the American technology company LanzaJet and the Japanese investment company Mitsui/ Following the meeting, both foreign companies expressed interest in jointly implementing this project with KMG,” the information says.

It is noted that the preliminary feasibility study of the SAF production complex construction project in Kazakhstan was conducted on the joint initiative of KMG and Air Astana Aviation Company with financial assistance from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The next stage is planned to develop a detailed feasibility study of the project.

According to the information, Air Astana is currently exploring the prospect of using SAF in its fleet of aircraft. According to the concept of low-carbon development of Samruk-Kazyna JSC, the share of SAF consumption by this air carrier will gradually increase and amount to 5% by 2040, 15% by 2050 and 25% by 2060, the message says.

In addition, three large KMG refineries are ready to produce Jet A-1 jet fuel, which will allow it to be mixed with SAF in the future.

SAF is a sustainable aviation fuel, which is an environmentally friendly version of Jet-1 fuel. Unlike conventional jet fuel, SAF in its pure form reduces carbon emissions by 80%. SAF and Jet-1 are interchangeable, which allows them to be mixed in airport storage tanks with available fuel. The U.S. plans to switch to 50 percent SAF usage by 2050. The European Union — starting in 2025 at the level of 2%, increasing this figure to 5% from 2030 and to 63% in 2050.

LanzaJet recently opened LanzaJet Freedom Pines Fuels in the United States, the world's first SAF production plant, which plans to produce 1 billion gallons of SAF by 2030.