Kazakh Tengiz oil field operating at 'normal rates'

Production at Kazakhstan's 600,000 b/d Tengiz oil field has been restored to normal levels, having been cut in the wake of last week's civil unrest.

"The workplace environment is stable at Tengiz, and production facilities are operating at normal rates," Chevron said today.

Chevron, which leads the Tengizchevroil (TCO) consortium that operates the field, said on 6 January that output had been adjusted "due to logistics" after contractor employees gathered at the field in support of protests taking place across Kazakhstan.

Tengiz crude production averaged 565,000 b/d in January-November last year. Chevron has not revealed the extent of last week's output adjustment, but a state-owned monitoring website that posts daily Kazakh production levels showed a 77,000 b/d drop in crude and condensate output on 9 January compared with 30 December before the protests began.

Tengiz is one of three giant fields in Kazakhstan that underpin CPC Blend crude exports. The other two, Kashagan and Karachaganak, were not impacted by the unrest, according to field partner TotalEnergies. Russia's Lukoil, a partner in Tengiz and Karachaganak, confirmed that production at its Kazakh assets is "normal".

Kazakhstan's president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev told parliament today that the situation in the country has stabilised, although he also ordered the "anti-terrorist" operation to be completed, suggesting that things are not yet fully under control. A spike in LPG prices was the starting point for widespread disorder in Kazakhstan last week, resulting in significant loss of life and the resignation of the government.

By James Keates