Condor Energies to supply LNG to Kazakh rail system

Canada’s Condor Energies said July 17 it had signed a framework agreement for the utilisation of LNG to fuel Kazakhstan’s rail locomotives.

The agreement was also signed by Kazakhstan Temir Zholy National Company (KTZ), the national railway operator, and Wabtec, a US-based locomotive manufacturer with existing facilities in Kazakhstan. They recently signed a memorandum of understanding to retrofit KTZ’s mainline locomotive fleet for LNG usage and to incorporate LNG into newbuild locomotives.

Condor is expected to supply LNG to KTZ’s fleet, and it has already completed front-end engineering for its first modular LNG facility, with detailed engineering expected to begin soon. The first facility will be built near Aktobe, and produce 120,000 tonnes/year of LNG, the energy equivalent of some 450,000 litres/day of diesel.

Phase 1 of the first facility, for which a stable feed gas supply has already been secured, is expected to begin production in mid-2026.

Displacing diesel with LNG as a locomotive fuel is expected to reduce costs, improve operating ranges, reduce transit times and lower fuel and maintenance costs. It will also materially reduce greenhouse gas emissions.