Kazakhstan to build sulfur processing plants

energy

Kazakhstan to build sulfur processing plants

By SRI ⋅ July 8, 2008 ⋅

Kazatomprom, the Kazakh national nuclear company, plans to build several sulfur processing plants in the republic, said Raushan Sarmurzina, director of the Petrochemical Department at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, at the Kazakh-Canadian business forum in Astana on Wednesday.

Kazatomprom will need sulfuric acid for in-situ leaching at its uranium deposits in its quest to boost production.

The company plans to build sulfuric acid plants in the Kyzylorda region of Souther Kazakhstan and in the town of Stepnogorsk in theAkmola region, Sarmurzina said. The plant in Stepnogorsk will process 300,000 tons of sulfur and in Kyzylorda region 250,000 tons.

Kazatomprom is currently conducting negotiations with Tengizchevroil (TCO) about sulfur supply from the Tengiz oil field.

Sulfur production in Kazakhstan has exceeded its utilization. Despite growing world price, there still is almost 10 million tons of sulfur stockpiled in open-air storage, mostly near the Tengiz oil field.

Tengizchevroil, the operator of the field and the biggest producer of the crude oil by-product, spent more than $100 million in the last five years to process and market sulfur and plans to spend $600 million more by 2011.

Sulfur storage near the Tengiz field has been a contentious issue for many years. Tengizchevroil was hit with several large fines by local and national environmental authorities.