Operations at the field have not yet recovered after a forced shutdown early last month
Crude production at Kazakhstan's offshore 13bn bl Kashagan field will remain far below capacity until at least the end of this month.
The Kazakh energy ministry and Kashagan operating consortium NCOC will evaluate the possibility of fully restoring output at the end of this month, energy minister Bolat Akchulakov said this week. Production has dropped to 100,000 b/d — around a quarter of normal output — since unscheduled maintenance in August. NCOC could not be reached for comment.
Discussions about bringing Kashagan production back to capacity are "split into two parts", according to Akchulakov — the performance of an offshore gas compressor and operation of the so-called "slug catcher". The slug catcher is an installation between the pipeline outlet from the offshore platform and the project's onshore Bolashak processing unit, which removes large accumulations of liquids or gas that can overload the system.
A second offshore compressor should be commissioned in the near future, supporting a "production increase to about 200,000 b/d", Akchulakov said.
"We will meet our colleagues once again at the end of September, check the condition of the slug catcher and then consider options for a replacement. The unit will be repaired and returned to service, until a replacement is designed and built… but if the slug catcher repairs are unsuccessful, we will have to consider alternative solutions," Akchulakov said.
Kashagan production of around 400,000 b/d was suspended on 3 August because of a gas leak. NCOC reported the gradual restart of output from 9-10 August, but production remains at only around 100,000 b/d this month. The field produced 7.92mn t in January-July (292,000 b/d), down by 9pc on the year, partly because of a planned maintenance shutdown on 1 June-15 July.
All Kashagan crude is exported through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) system and reduced production has hit loadings of light sour CPC Blend crude at Yuzhnaya Ozereyevka, on Russia's Black Sea coast — CPC Blend shipments by NCOC shareholders are scheduled at 169,000 b/d in October, compared with 165,000 b/d planned in September (see p9).
Kazakh state-owned Kazmunaigaz (KMG) holds 16.88pc in NCOC, while Shell, ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies and Italy's Eni each have 16.81pc, Chinese state-owned CNPC holds 8.33pc and Japanese upstream company Inpex has 7.56pc.
Karachaganak suspension
Separately, production at Kazakhstan's 9bn bl Karachaganak project is suspended for planned maintenance on 12 September-6 October, the energy ministry says — although the Karachaganak Petroleum Operating (KPO) consortium has not officially announced plans for work at the field. KPO crude and condensate exports through the CPC system are scheduled 60pc lower than the August plan at 99,000 b/d in September — accounting for around 10pc of CPC Blend exports. But Karachaganak loadings are planned at 135,000 b/d in October.
Karachaganak production rose by 2.6pc on the year to 7.12mn t (265,000 b/d)in January-July. Shell and Eni each hold 29.25pc in KPO, alongside Chevron with 18pc, Lukoil with 13pc and KMG with 10pc.
