The Agency for Protection and Development of Competition of the Republic of Kazakhstan has completed an analysis of the state of competition in the road petroleum bitumen market for 2024–2025. One of the key objectives of the analysis was to assess the extent of state participation in the market and the possibility of further reducing it, including through the transfer of certain assets into a competitive environment by means of privatization, without reducing the road sector’s supply of bitumen.

State participation in the market is represented primarily by the group of companies of JSC “NC “KazMunayGas”, as well as by the participation of JSC “Karazhanbasmunay” in the production and distribution chain of products manufactured by LLP “JV “Caspi Bitum”.

A significant role of the state is also evident in production. In 2025, LLP “Pavlodar Petrochemical Plant” and LLP “JV “Caspi Bitum” jointly accounted for approximately 70% of road bitumen production. Taking this structure into account, the Agency assessed opportunities for gradual denationalization, with a mandatory assessment of the impact of such decisions on competition and the stability of supplies to the domestic market.

The analysis also focused on previously identified restrictions. Following the analysis for 2022–2023, the Agency noted the absence, at the legislative level, of a mechanism for administering the allocation of road bitumen volumes and transparent criteria for selecting market participants, which affected the control over the targeted use of bitumen.

In 2026, this gap was addressed. At the legislative level, the authorized body responsible for roads was granted powers, jointly with the national operator, to determine the demand for road bitumen, approve rules for the formation and allocation of volumes, and directly carry out such allocation. The amendments will enter into force in September 2026.

Thus, the mechanism for allocating road bitumen volumes has received a direct legal basis. Further attention in this area should focus on establishing clear and transparent conditions for the allocation of bitumen, ensuring equal access for all market participants, and monitoring the targeted use of allocated bitumen volumes.

At the same time, the issue of monitoring mandatory sales of bitumen through commodity exchanges remains unresolved. Since 2021, the minimum share of petroleum bitumen subject to sale through commodity exchanges has been set at 10% of the total annual volume planned for supply to the domestic market. In practice, only some of the obligated entities conduct exchange-based sales. During the period under review, two producers did not sell bitumen through commodity exchanges.

In the Agency’s view, increasing the share of exchange-based trading not only ensures market-based pricing and equal access to the resource, but also reduces the risks of shadow turnover. In this regard, ensuring effective exchange-based monitoring of compliance with the mandatory sales share by all market participants remains a key outstanding task. Strengthening such monitoring will increase market transparency and ensure a level playing field for competition.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/zk/press/news/details/1271991?lang=ru