Kazakhstan’s Agency for the Protection and Development of Competition has proposed selling up to a 50% stake in KMG International N.V. (a subsidiary of Kazakhstan’s national oil and gas company KazMunayGas, or KMG) through an open, two-stage bidding process in 2026-2027. The company is included on the national list of assets slated for privatization.
KMG in Europe
The goal of the sale is to bring in a strategic partner to support joint business development.
According to the agency, the KMG group has 28 operating companies across Romania, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldova, Turkey, and Kazakhstan (excluding its 49% stake in the Rompetrol France group). KMG International owns two oil refineries in Romania, an oil terminal, and about 1,400 retail stations in four countries under the Rompetrol brand, as well as other assets.
KMG supplies crude oil to these refineries from Kazakhstan and other sources. The company upgraded its two Romanian refineries before completing similar modernization projects at its three major refineries in Kazakhstan.
KMG International (Romania)
Notably, Romania’s Rompetrol Rafinare reported a $53.2 million loss in the first half of 2025. KMG holds a controlling stake in the company through KMG International. The loss represents a 29% improvement from the first half of 2024, when it totaled $75.1 million. The company attributes the year-over-year improvement to operational growth and stronger financial performance.
KMG previously planned to sell its 51% stake in KMG International to China Energy Company Limited in 2017–2018, with a final deadline of June 30, 2018, but the deal ultimately fell through.
