In cooperation with Marubeni Corporation, JGC won a contract for modernizing Kazakhstan's largest refinery, Atyrau Oil Refinery, from Kazakhoil National Oil & Gas Company of Kazakhstan.

JGC is to provide engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning supervision. JGC's share of the lump-sum, turnkey contract is estimated at 30 billion yen. Delivery is slated for the latter half of 2004.

Originally built in 1945, the Atyrau Oil Refinery has undergone near-continuous expansion, with the addition of atmospheric distillation units, decompression distillation units, naphtha desulfurization units, and delayed cokers. Over time, the refinery has grown to be Kazakhstan's largest, supplying the country's western region with gasoline and diesel fuels.

The current modernization project calls for revamping the atmospheric distillation units and constructing high-octane gasoline production units to meet increasing demand for automobile fuel along with desulfurization and wax cracking units that comply with domestic environmental regulations and make diesel fuel usable during winter.

In accordance with the memorandum of understanding signed in 1988 between Marubeni and the government of Kazakhstan, JGC began conducting a feasibility study in May 2000 in cooperation with Marubeni and with the assistance of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). In May 2001, JGC received a basic design contract, which was followed by agreement on the EPC contract.

This marks the third project for JGC in the CIS region following the Bukhara refinery in Uzbekistan and a polypropylene plant in Turkmenistan.