Kazakhstan’s Oil-Refining Industry: Using a UAE Company for Energy Trading and Industrial Services

The figures come from a report by The Times of Central Asia on a government meeting in February, where Deputy Energy Minister Kaiyrkhan Tutkyshbaev set out the plan after criticism from President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev a week earlier. The gap Tokayev pointed to is stark: about 100 million tonnes of oil produced each year, about 18 million tonnes refined in the country.

The plan has two parts. The first is modernisation of the existing refineries at Pavlodar, Atyrau and Shymkent, lifting their combined capacity from 18.4 to 27.4 million tonnes a year. The second is a new 10 million tonne refinery in Mangistau, near the Caspian coast. The ministry said the feasibility, design, construction and commissioning run from 2026 to 2033, and that raw materials, product mix and export market data would set the configuration, technology licensor and exact site.

Refining depth is expected to rise from 89 to 94 percent at existing plants to 95 percent at the new one, and motor fuel is meant to move from environmental class K4 to K5. The aviation kerosene deficit of 500,000 tonnes a year is projected to fall to 300,000 tonnes between 2028 and 2030 and to be eliminated by 2033. After the fourth refinery starts, Kazakhstan expects to export diesel and gasoline to its neighbours.

Each of these lines is a purchasing list in waiting. Upgrading depth and fuel class means process units, catalysts, instrumentation and engineering studies. A kerosene deficit that closes by 2033 means product moves in the meantime.

Three business types come up most often, and they do not share a structure.

An equipment and spare-parts supplier sells goods into a project. Its UAE company would hold the supply contracts, invoice in dirhams or dollars and often warehouse or re-export. A contracting or engineering firm sells people and time, and needs professional qualifications and a different licence class. A refined-products trader sells fuel and sits closest to the energy ministry's remit.

A fuel trader should start with the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure's registration in the petroleum products trading register. The ministry lists a one-time fee of AED 500 and one working day for the service. It asks for a copy of the petroleum trading licence, a preliminary approval from the competent licensing authority in the emirate, and an environmental permit from the emirate's environmental authority. A general trade licence therefore does not cover the activity on its own. An engineering practice that wants to bill design work for a refinery should read the guide on engineering and architectural consultancy before picking a licence activity.

A company that does all three should ask whether one entity can explain itself to a bank. A trader holding inventory and an engineer billing hours look odd on one balance sheet. Separate entities cost more to run but can make each business easier to describe.

If the company supplies equipment that is also sold or used inside the UAE, MOIAT is the next stop. The ministry runs digital conformity services to register for and obtain a certificate of conformity with technical requirements, publishes UAE and GSO standards, and operates the Emirates National Accreditation System (ENAS) for conformity assessment bodies. Its Industrial Registry is a digital platform where companies update their information each year under Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2022.

MOIAT also runs the In-Country Value (ICV) programme, which issues certificates to suppliers based on their contribution to the local economy and gives certified suppliers an advantage in tenders and contracts. That matters if the UAE company wants UAE public-sector or national-energy-company work alongside Kazakhstan. It does not change what Kazakhstan's buyers require.

Equipment sold into Kazakhstan has to meet Kazakhstan's own technical rules and the project's own specification. The UAE certificate does not replace either. The sensible step is to get the project's technical requirements into the supply contract before the company chooses where it manufactures, stores or ships.

A UAE invoice does not move a pump to Atyrau. The freight, customs paperwork and insurance sit on a physical route, and goods that never touch the UAE still need a clear story on who owns them at each point. That story is the title-transfer point, and it drives who carries damage, delay and price risk.

For goods that pass through the UAE, a customs broker files the declarations and a freight forwarder arranges the movement. The guide on freight forwarding and customs brokerage explains where the two roles differ. For fuel and energy trades, the commodities and energy trading guide sets out the questions a bank will ask about counterparties and flows.

A founder should draw the route on one page before choosing a structure: supplier, UAE company, shipping line, Kazakh buyer, and the bank that pays each. If any link is unknown, the structure is premature.

The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) requires Corporate Tax returns and payment within nine months of the end of the tax period. For a year ended 31 December 2025, that meant 30 September 2026, filed through the EmaraTax platform. VAT is charged at 5%, and VAT and Corporate Tax registration are separate FTA services. A company that trades or invoices across borders should work out early which supplies are taxable in the UAE and which are not, and whether it needs registration before its first invoice.

Banks look at this sector closely. They will ask who the buyer and seller are, where the goods start and end, how the price is set and who pays. A company that arrives with the one-page route, contracts and a named management team is easier to onboard than one that arrives with a licence and an intention. Nothing here guarantees an account.

Choosing between onshore and zone-based options belongs after those answers. The ministry's trading register asks for a preliminary approval from the competent licensing authority in the emirate, so a fuel trader needs its route fixed before it can apply, and the licensing route comparison is useful once the business is defined. A mainland company suits a business that sells directly inside the UAE, while a free-zone company may suit a services or holding arm. How Velarozone works starts from the same flow map.