Astana drivers are mass-complaining on social media about fuel quality: after refueling, cars allegedly have trouble starting the engine and require injector cleaning. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.

Situation at Nomad Oil gas station

First, we visited the Nomad Oil gas station on the left bank of Astana.

"Overall, it seems that 92-octane is bad for everyone in the city, so I fill 95-octane, but my 'Check' light is still on. I previously filled 92-octane at Helios and other stations," says Albert, a Changan Alsvin driver, pointing to the dashboard.

Taxi driver Sergei in a Kia Rio also said that his 'Check' light had come on earlier but then went off.

"I always refuel here. A couple of days ago it came on briefly, but now everything seems fine," he said.

Another driver, Murat, said that last year, after refueling at one of the capital's popular gas stations, his Hyundai Tucson's catalytic converter burned out.

"After that, I don't refuel there at all, only here. I see that they often clean the fuel tanks, and that somehow gives me confidence that they have normal fuel," the driver shared.

Astana resident Yerkin in a Hyundai Accent, on the contrary, praised the fuel at this station and said he constantly fills 92-octane.

"I've been refueling here all my life, no problems," he commented.

The station staff, represented by Asel, the manager of the minimarket at the station, recommended contacting the Nomad Oil network management officially.

Situation at Gasenergy gas station

Zholdas, manager of the Gasenergy station, said they had received no complaints about fuel quality.

"The State Security Service (SSS) refuels here. They constantly take samples with their own equipment and check. No complaints so far," the manager assured.

A pensioner named Serikbay filled his brand-new LADA with 92-octane in our presence and said he had not yet encountered the problem of bad fuel.

"Although I haven't been in the city for 15 days and just refueled. The car is behaving normally so far. We'll see what happens next," he said.

A survey of several other drivers refueling at this station also showed that they do not complain about fuel quality.

Situation at Helios gas station

Dastan, manager of the Helios station, says he has also heard about complaints from city drivers about bad gasoline, but no one has specifically complained to them.

"I heard about 95-octane and 98-octane. At this station, for example, there is no 98-octane. We also refuel here ourselves. No complaints," the manager said.

A guest from Karaganda, Arman, in a Toyota Camry, said he chose this station only because it was close to home.

"I can't say anything bad about the local gasoline yet. I just refueled. In Karaganda, I heard there was a case where water got into the tank along with gasoline and the car broke down. But otherwise, we have normal fuel there," the driver said.

We interviewed three more drivers on the spot, and none complained about the gasoline from this station.

Situation at Qazaq Oil gas station

At the Qazaq Oil station, we asked a Toyota Camry driver named Samat if he had any problems with his car.

"I always refuel here and have never had any problems," he assures.

But another driver, Akylzhan in a Kia Rio, who came from Almaty, says that compared to the southern capital, 92-octane gasoline in Astana is worse and the car has started consuming more fuel.

"There are few gas stations, so I refuel wherever I have to. Consumption has become much higher. If in Almaty it consumed 7.5 liters per 100 km, here it now takes 11 liters," he said.

The station staff, without commenting, also directed us to contact Qazaq Oil management regarding quality issues.

Energy Minister's comment

Meanwhile, Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov, answering journalists' questions in the government about complaints about fuel quality, did not rule out that a malfunction could have occurred.

"There was probably, I'm just guessing now, some kind of malfunction in the production of motor fuel. Well, you know, the question is that gas station networks blame the oil refinery. The oil refinery says it might be the gas station networks. We will figure all this out and put an end to it in the very near future," the minister promised.

According to him, yesterday Vice Minister of Energy Kaiyrkhan Tutkyshbaev was sent to the Pavlodar Oil Refinery to check for fuel quality violations.

"We literally need to be patient for a few days; new batches of gasoline are already on the way, in particular from the Atyrau Oil Refinery. And we will ensure appropriate quality in a very short period of time," Yerlan Akkenzhenov stated.

Earlier, Kursiv Avto reported that gasoline at Kazakhstan's gas stations may be checked after drivers' complaints.