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Huge Kazakh Oilfield Set To Resume Production By End-October

By Charles Kennedy - Oct 13, 2022

Kazakhstan’s massive oilfield Kashagan will resume production at a level of 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) by the end of this month, Kazakhstan’s Energy Minister Bolat Akchulakov told Reuters on the sidelines of an energy forum in Moscow.

“Production at Kashagan has been curtailed due to some ‘nuances’ with the equipment. We are conducting repair work,” the minister said.

The offshore oilfield Kashagan is one of the world’s biggest oilfields in terms of capacity to pump crude oil.

In early August, the oilfield was shut down after a gas leak was detected on the site. A few days later, the field operator said that it would partially restart production, and upon completion of repairs and integrity verification, full production would be restored at the facility.

In the middle of September, Minister Bulat Akchulakov said that the Kashagan oilfield would resume normal operations “in October at best.”

Kazakhstan’s oil production and exports have been lower in recent weeks due to the partial outage at Kashagan and urgent repairs needed at two of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s (CPC) terminals on the Black Sea.

Akchulakov told Reuters this week that all three CPC terminals would likely resume operations before the end of October.

The 1,500-km CPC pipeline from the giant Kazakh oilfields in the Caspian Sea to Novorossiysk, on the Russian Black Sea coast, moves over two-thirds of all Kazakhstan export oil along with crude from Russian fields, including those in the Caspian region.

Higher production and exports out of Kazakhstan could be a relief for global oil supply just as the OPEC+ group is set to reduce supply to the market starting in November. Most of the actual cuts – estimated at around 1 million bpd compared to the headline 2-million-bpd cut to production – will come from OPEC’s de facto leader Saudi Arabia and some of its Gulf allies.

In the first quarter of this year, oil production from the Kashagan oilfield dropped to an average of 317,000 bpd, down by 2 percent compared to the same period of 2021.

Kazakhstan’s 300,000-Bpd Kashagan Oilfield Halts Output

By Tsvetana Paraskova - Aug 05, 2022, 9:30 AM CDT
Kazakhstan's Kashagan field was shut down after a gas leak was detected on Thursday.

La baisse du niveau de la mer Caspienne menace l'exploitation du gisement de pétrole géant de Kachagan

AFP parue le 07 avr. 2021

La baisse du niveau de la mer Caspienne, due au changement climatique, menace les structures offshore du gisement de pétrole géant de Kachagan, au Kazakhstan, a mis en garde mercredi le consortium international qui l'exploite.

"La baisse du niveau de la mer Caspienne ainsi que la faible profondeur de la mer dans la zone des installations offshore de Kachagan ont limité l'utilisation des bateaux", explique la North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC). "Cela constitue une menace pour l'exploitation sûre (de ces installations), ce qui pourrait conduire à l'arrêt complet de l'un des plus grands champs du Kazakhstan", ajoute le consortium.

Avec des réserves estimées de 13 milliards de barils de pétrole, Kachagan est un des plus importants gisements offshore de pétrole du monde.

La Caspienne, plus grande mer fermée du monde, borde cinq pays : la Russie, l'Iran, le Kazakhstan, le Turkménistan et l'Azerbaïdjan. Selon les estimations, sous ses eaux salées se trouveraient près de 50 milliards de barils de pétrole et 300 000 milliards m3 de gaz naturel.

Mais le réchauffement climatique dans cette zone déjà aride provoque une évaporation accélérée de cette mer : son niveau a baissé de 1,4 mètre entre 1996 et 2015, selon une étude de 2017. Selon des estimations, son niveau pourrait encore baisser jusqu'à 18 mètres d'ici la fin du siècle. La faune et la flore uniques de la Caspienne souffrent de cette baisse du niveau de la mer, mais aussi des activités liées aux hydrocarbures et à la pollution qui en résulte.

Le NCOC regroupe la compagnie kazakhe KazmunaiGas, le français Total, l'américain ExxonMobil, l'italien Eni, l'anglo-néerlandais Shell, le chinois CNPC et le japonais Inpex.

Découvert en 2000, le gisement de Kachagan, d'une richesse rare mais d'une complexité technique inédite, n'a ouvert ses vannes de ce projet qu'en 2016 après des années de retard et plus de 50 milliards de dollars de dépenses.

L'assèchement de la Caspienne rappelle le destin de la mer d'Aral, que se partagent l'Ouzbékistan et le Kazakhstan, et qui a été réduite quasiment à néant à cause de la culture intensive du coton sur ses affluents à l'époque soviétique.

Kazakhstan’s Kashagan output hits 400,000 b/d in early Sep: Eni

15/11/2019

Kazakhstan’s giant Kashagan field hit a record-high crude output level of 400,000 b/d in early September, with liquids output averaging 422,000 b/d in the third quarter, Italy’s Eni said Thursday, fueling expectations of an export surge to come.

In emailed comments, a spokeswoman for the Italian company said Kashagan crude production had reached 400,260 b/d on September 4.

The increase was achieved through the conversion of an additional well to injection operations, designed to support output levels, following a major maintenance shutdown in the second quarter, she said.

Overall production at Kashagan, including crude, gas and natural gas liquids, had averaged 503,000 b/d of oil equivalent in the third quarter, she said.

The level of daily production at the Kashagan oil field reached the 380,000 barrels, the press service of Kazakhstan’s oil ministry said on 16 September.

The North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC) international consortium plans to reach 420,000 barrels per day by 2022 and 500,000 barrels per day in 2027.

Kazakhstan & Oil Majors Could Build Huge $1B Gas Plant At Giant Kashagan

By Tsvetana Paraskova - Sep 26, 2019

The government of Kazakhstan and a group of international oil companies that develop the huge Kashagan oil and gas field are weighing the possibility of building a gas processing plant near the field estimated to cost US$1 billion, the Deputy Energy Minister of Kazakhstan, Murat Zhurebekov, told Reuters on Thursday.

The gas processing plant is planned to have a capacity of 1 billion cubic meters (bcm) a year, with the gas expected to come from Kashagan, which is already one of the largest offshore oil fields in terms of production.

Kazakhstan, however, has not decided yet how the project would be financially structured—whether it would use government or private funds, Zhurebekov told Reuters.
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Oil production at Kashagan, which started in 2016, is around 400,000 bpd, making the Kazakh field one of the largest offshore oil fields.
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This Giant Oil Field Just Hit An Impressive Production Record

By Tsvetana Paraskova - Jun 05, 2019

The giant Kashagan oil field in Kazakhstan hit a record-high oil production of 400,000 bpd on Tuesday, a few weeks after returning from planned maintenance, three sources familiar with the field’s production data told Reuters on Wednesday.

Before the month-long halt due to maintenance, the Kashagan oil field was pumping between 330,000 bpd and 340,000 bpd.

Planned maintenance at Kashagan began on April 14 and ended on May 19, ten days ahead of schedule, Kazakhstan’s energy ministry said in a statement on May 20, adding that on the first day of production resumption, output reached 70,000 bpd.

In recent months, crude oil production at Kashagan, which started in 2016, has been more than 300,000 bpd, making the Kazakh field one of the largest offshore oil fields.

Kashagan has reserves of 13 billion barrels of crude and in-place resources of as much as 38 billion barrels. Its development has been challenging, mainly because of climatic and geological peculiarities, and because of cost overruns that saw the final budget more than double on the initial US$20 billion to US$50 billion. There have been plans to bring the field’s production rate to half a million barrels daily.

Kazakhstan is part of the non-OPEC group of oil producers that have joined OPEC’s efforts to rebalance the oil market and prop up oil prices. Kazakhstan has pledged to cut 40,000 bpd of its production and keep it at 1.86 million bpd between January and June.

Total veut céder des parts dans le gisement de Kashagan

Usine Nouvelle le 24/05/2019

par Katya Golubkova, Ron Bousso et Shadia Nasralla

Total cherche à vendre une partie de sa participation dans le gisement pétrolier kazakh Kashagan, en mer Caspienne, afin de lever jusqu'à quatre milliards de dollars (3,5 milliards d'euros), a appris vendredi Reuters de quatre sources bancaires.

Le groupe français détient une participation de 16,8% dans ce gisement, l'un des plus importants au monde avec une production d'environ 400.000 barils par jour (bpj). Total souhaite céder environ un tiers de sa participation, selon les sources, qui valorisent la totalité de la part du pétrolier français à neuf milliards de dollars.

Total n'a pas souhaité s'exprimer sur le sujet.

Kashagan, considéré comme la plus grande découverte de pétrole au monde depuis des décennies, a déjà coûté environ 50 milliards de dollars aux membres du consortium chargés de l'exploiter.

Total a déjà discuté avec une compagnie pétrolière nationale chinoise sur une cession de ses parts au cours des derniers mois, mais les deux groupes ne sont pas parvenus à un accord sur le prix, ont déclaré deux sources.

La compagnie pétrolière française n'a fait appel à aucun banquier extérieur pour cette cession, a précisé l'une des sources.

Une vente permettrait à Total de disposer de liquidités alors que le groupe s'apprête à racheter pour 8,8 milliards de dollars d'actifs pétroliers et gaziers en Afrique à Occidental Petroleum si l'offre d'acquisition de ce dernier sur Anadarko aboutit.

Le gisement de Kashagan est exploité par la NCOC (North Caspian Operating Company), en partenariat avec Eni, Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobil, KazMunayGas, Inpex et China National Petroleum.

Le gouvernement kazakh dispose d'un droit de préemption sur le gisement de Kashagan en cas de cession par ses membres d'une partie de leur participation.

Le ministère kazakh de l'Energie n'a pu être contacté dans l'immédiat pour un commentaire.

Kazakhstan To Shut Down Giant Kashagan Field To Comply With OPEC+ Cuts

By Irina Slav - Mar 18, 2019,
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Kashagan oil output crosses 300,000 b/d, but 'giant' increases unlikely: Shell executive

Kazakhstan's giant Kashagan oil field is achieving new production highs every month and has done better than 300,000 b/d, but development beyond the current phase is likely to be about "discretionary step-ups" rather than giant steps, Shell country chair and vice president Olivier Lazare said Thursday.

Speaking at the IP Week conference in London, Lazare declined to specify the current production level, saying there were still reliability issues with the first phase, which started producing in 2016 after more than $50 billion of investment and multiple delays, and has a target of 370,000 b/d.

(..)

Lazare noted that average production from Kashagan last year was over 225,000 b/d. But he sounded cautious about further big investments in the context of weaker oil prices and the technical challenges involved, saying the consortium was still learning from the first "experimental" phase.

He confirmed the consortium is focusing on optimizing operations for the time being, rather than further development.

(..)

"At the moment we're talking about a plateau extension project. To make a big leap we need some other imagination. I never rule anything out," Lazare told reporters.

Kashagan development delayed again over new output glitches

MOSCOW, Nov 13 (Reuters)

Kazakhstan's giant Kashagan oilfield will reach its planned capacity of 370,000 barrels per day later than anticipated, its developer, the North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC), said on Monday.

"I expect that we will need year 2018 to fully accomplish this (370,000 bpd) capacity, and we will study options to accelerate this timing," NCOC managing director Bruno Jardin said in a statement on Monday.

In October, Kashagan's output fell to 182,000 barrels per day (23,000 tonnes per day) from 200,000 barrels per day in September, its highest monthly output figure, sources said.

It was the first biggest fall in production since May this year and comes at time when NCOC delayed plans to ramp up output to 370,000 bpd from the end of 2017.

"Production is not really stable. It's difficult to forecast anything," a source close to one of Kashagan consortium shareholders said.

The main problem revolves around gas re-injection.

"... with the start of gas re-injection in August this year we have learned a great deal about how the reservoir reacts. Pressure decline, and hence production increase, is going to be more gradual than we originally anticipated," Bruno said.

Kashagan's output will only rise above 200,000 barrels per day if gas re-injection goes well, industry sources familiar with the oilfield development said.

All associated natural gas produced at Kashagan along with crude oil has to be utilised and should not be flared up for environmental and technical reasons. Gas produced has a high mercaptan content, which makes it pungent-smelling.

"If they don't find a way to utilise the gas Kashagan will face the gas glut," an industry source said.

Kashagan tentatively launched production in September 2013, but was forced to suspend it due to gas leaks blamed on faulty pipes. Production was restarted again last year.

The early development was fraught with delays and cost overruns that have brought total spending on the project to about $55 billion.

The Kashagan consortium includes Kazakh state oil firm KazMunayGaz, Eni, ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Total, China's CNPC and Japan's Inpex. (Reporting by Olga Yagova, Alla Afanasieva,; Writing by Olga Yagova, Vladimir Soldatkin, Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber, editing by David Evans)

mobar a écrit :Une fois que ce sera démarré, la production coutera beaucoup moins

Le truc c'est de démarrer rapidement pour réduire les frais financiers intercalaires, mais si le baril reste bas, c'est aussi un manque à gagner futur qui sera plombé d'autant plus que la demande sera faible (et le restera si de nouvelles productions sont mises sur le marché)

Un autre solution c'est de tout arrêter, de mettre les entreprises qui ont réalisées en faillite, et de reprendre lorsque la demande sera là ... ou pas!

Le dilemme habituel des productions qui ne sont pas pilotées par la demande (le lait en Europe, la viande, les céréales ...)

tita a écrit :Le coût de la phase 1 s'est élevé à $50 milliards. Au prix actuel du baril, il faudrait 7 années pour générer un chiffre d'affaire équivalent aux coûts d'investissement (pour une production de 370kb/j). La grande question, c'est la rentabilité d'un tel projet... Et donc de la poursuite de son développement. La phase 2 qui doit amener la production à 1.1Mb/j va être tout autant onéreuse, et ne risque pas de démarrer tout de suite.

Evidemment, si le succès de la phase 1 se confirme sans d'autres problèmes, et que le prix du pétrole remonte au niveau de 100$ le baril, il y a toutes les chances pour que le projet se développe. Mais c'est aussi l'exemple même de ces nouveaux projets qui nécessitent des investissements beaucoup plus lourds. Ce n'est pas parce que Kashagan est un super-géant contenant 10 milliards de pétrole conventionnel récupérable qu'on va forcément aller le pomper. Si c'est trop cher, c'est que c'est pas récupérable