Nazarbaev made the remarks after talks with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili in Astana today.
He said the state-owned company KazMunayGaz was considering building the refinery at the Black Sea port of Batumi. He said the project would cost up to $1 billion.
"KazMunayGaz is buying a majority stake in the Batumi port now, and we talked about that too," Nazarbaev said. "If this happens, they are looking into building a terminal and an oil refinery there."
(Interfax, Kazinform, ITAR-TASS)
Central Asia Gas Pipelines
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Russia's rising appetite for Central Asian gas is a direct result of the shifting fortunes of Gazprom, the state-run Russian company that controls lucrative exports. The company's total gas production has flatlined at around 550 billion cubic meters (bcm) a year. With major fields yielding less as they age, Gazprom has chosen to maintain its all-important gas balance by purchasing gas on the side -- from independent producers in Russia and from Russia's Central Asian neighbors -- instead of investing in the lengthy and costly development of untapped Arctic fields...(more)
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