Commercial production to start at Kashagan

Commercial production at the giant offshore Kashagan oilfield is expected to resume in November, KazMunayGaz’ chairman, Sauat Mynbayev, announced on Friday.

First oil is planned for September 24, and the production of commercial volumes will start early or mid-November. The field is expected to produce 3 million-5 million tonnes of oil in 2017, and 7 million tonnes in 2018. The project’s first production phase is designed to produce up to 20 million tonnes of oil per year at full capacity. Further phases could bring production up to 50 million tonnes per year.

The development of the Kashagan sour oilfield, discovered in 2000 in the Caspian Sea, has long been in the making. Just two years after starting production eight years behind schedule in September 2013, production had to be halted because of pipeline gas leaks.

The project’s stakeholders have spent over USD 50 billions on the project’s development. Current partners in the venture include KazMunayGaz (16.88%), Eni (16.81%), Shell (16.81%), ExxonMobil (16.81%), Total (16.81%), China National Petroleum Corporation (8.33%) and INPEX (7.56%).