Chevron reaches first oil at Kazakhstan mega-project

Kazakhstan

ASTANA, January 24, 2025 – Chevron has reached first oil at its Future Growth Project (FGP) at Kazakhstan’s supergiant Tengiz oilfield, the company announced on Friday.

The project is expected to increase production from the field to 1 million boepd this year.

Launched in 2016, the FGP involved building the third processing plant in operation at the Tengiz field, designed to expand the capacity for sour gas injection at the project.

At full capacity, it is expected to grow crude oil production by 260,000 bopd.

The Tengiz field is being developed by Tengizchevroil, a company held 50% by Chevron and 20% by local player KazMunayGas, 25% by ExxonMobil and 5% by Russia’s Lukoil.

It ranks among the world’s largest oilfields and is the largest known single-trap reservoir. Its oil-in-place has been pegged at 25.5 billion barrels.

“This milestone concludes a multiyear project that completely revamped the gathering and processing capacity of one of the world’s largest oil fields that will provide significant economic benefit for the Republic of Kazakhstan,” said Clay Neff, Chevron’s president of international exploration and production.

In an interview with the New York Times, Neff said the Tengiz field is a key source of cashflow for the company, expected to generate USD 4 billion in 2025.

Chevron has been a central player in Kazakhstan’s oil and gas sector since it entered the country in 1993.

Beyond the Tengiz project, the company is active at the Karachaganak field and holds a 15% stake in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which operates a 1,511-kilometre export pipeline connecting the Tengiz field to the company’s tanker-loading facilities in the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk.

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