The Department of the Technical Regulation and Metrology Committee of the Ministry of Trade and Integration for the city of Almaty conducted an unscheduled inspection of LLP "Gazpromneft-Kazakhstan Operating Company" based on a complaint from an individual… The results of the unscheduled inspection revealed violations of Article 19 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On Ensuring the Unity of Measurements." For violating the requirements of the law, LLP "Gazpromneft-Kazakhstan Operating Company" was held administratively liable and fined 3,145,600 tenge," the published statement says.
The inspection focused on the company's compliance with laws and other regulatory legal acts in the field of metrology. During the inspection, a deviation exceeding the permissible error was identified when dispensing automotive gasoline grade AI-95-K4 through fuel dispensing unit (FDU) No. 1 at gas station No. 132 of the company. Specifically, when dispensing 20 liters of this grade of gasoline, the shortfall was 100 ml, which constitutes a violation of standards.
At the same time, the control of fuel and lubricants dispensing at the gas station was carried out using a metal reference measure M2R-20, calibrated in accordance with established procedures and valid until April 24, 2025. The permissible measurement error for the volume of petroleum products at gas stations is ±4%. As a result, the corresponding equipment at the gas station was deemed unfit for use.
The retail sale of AI-95 is not regulated by the state, allowing gas station networks to set any price for its sale. At the end of January, Energy Minister Almasadam Satkaliyev announced that retail prices for AI-92 gasoline, diesel fuel, and liquefied petroleum gas (autogas) would start to rise in Kazakhstan from early February. Specifically, autogas has already increased by 8.5-21.4% depending on the region. It has risen the least in the Mangystau region, where most vehicles use autogas as fuel, and the population began protesting against the sharp rise in gas prices in early January 2022, leading to mass unrest in Almaty and other cities.