How much CO2 is stored in Kazakhstan?

In Kazakhstan, CO 2 produced from Ammonia production accounts for only 0.2% (Fig. 4). Seven storage sinks from the CCS hubs are considered for CO 2 storage. The Precaspian basin, with a potential total effective storage of 602 Gt CO 2 (Abuov et al., Dec. 2020), shares three storage sinks for Atyrau, Oral, and Aktobe CCS hubs.

Is Kazakhstan a carbon lock-in country?

Kazakhstan finds itself in a situation of carbon lock-in, with a strong reliance on the exports of oil and, to a lesser extent, gas. Its domestic economy is fuelled by cheap hydrocarbons, including abundant coal resources that are used to produce electricity and heat.

How can Kazakhstan achieve a just energy transition?

For a just energy transition, Kazakhstan must set ambitious but achievable emission reduction tar-gets in all key sectors of the economy, including electricity and heating, transport, and energy-in-tensive industries.

What if a CO2 pipeline is built in north central Kazakhstan?

For example, if one CO 2 emitter in North Central Kazakhstan decides to build a 2000–2500 km CO 2 pipeline to storage sites in West Kazakhstan to send its CO 2 emissions, that would be quite an expensive project for one enterprise.

What are the CO2 quality standards for CCS operations in Kazakhstan?

As of now, Kazakhstan has no CO 2 quality standards for CCS operations. Usually, the purity of CO 2 should be more than 95% (by volume) for storage, EOR, and pipeline cases. There are limits on the maximum concentrations of water, nitrogen, and oxygen in the transported and injected gas (Shirley and Myles, 2019).

Why is coal important in Kazakhstan?

Coal is the backbone of Kazakhstan's energy sector, generating 66% of all electricity15 and 80% of thermal energy.16 It also plays an important role in industry, most prominently in steel production. Kazakhstan fully meets its domestic demand for thermal coal.