KazMunayGas pays more taxes in Romania than in Kazakhstan

In 2023, KazMunayGas (KMG) paid $1.6 billion in taxes and other fees in Romania and $1.4 billion in Kazakhstan, the company said in a statement.

All in all, the oil producer has paid $3.4 billion to various governments. In Kazakhstan, these payments include the mineral extraction tax, subscription bonuses and other fees.

KMG’s payments to Kazakhstan’s government ($1.4 billion) include $402 million paid to the National Fund of Kazakhstan, $276 million to the state budget and $766 million to local budgets. Among KMG subsidiaries that made the largest payments were the Atyrau refinery ($319.7 million), the Pavlodar refinery ($292 million) and Ozenmunaygas ($275.3 million).

In Romania, all payments were made by KMG International N.V., which also made payments in Bulgaria ($70.6 million), Moldova ($139 million), Georgia ($83.9 million), the Netherlands ($11.7 million) and Switzerland ($4.4 million).

KMG controls a 54.63% stake in two refineries in Romania — Vega and Petromidia (the government of Romania owns the remaining shares) with a capacity of 0.5 million tons and 6 million tons of oil products per year, respectively, as well as an oil terminal in Constanța onthe Black Sea coast, a key shipping hub for oil going to the Romanian refineries. Light oil products account for 84% of Petromidia Refinery’s output, compared to 77%, 72% and 67% of the Shymkent, Pavlodar and Atyrau refineries in Kazakhstan.

KMG supplies oil products from its refineries in Romania, such as gasoline and diesel fuel, which meet European standards, to its own and partnering gas stations in Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and Georgia. Several years ago, the company also reported supplies to the Ukrainian market.

The oil company completed the modernization of its Romanian refineries before undertaking similar moves in Kazakhstan. Moreover, all gas stations in its Romanian chain have long met EU requirements (including the presence of restrooms, coffee and fast food) unlike its gas station chain in Kazakhstan.

As of April 1, KMG shareholders included Samruk Kazyna (67.42%), the Ministry of Finance (20%), the National Bank (9.58%) and a group of minority shareholders (3% or 18.3 million shares) who acquired the company’s shares during its IPO in December 2022 on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) and the Astana International Exchange (AIX).