KMG head anticipates resumed production on Kashagan oilfield

Posted on: 05/03/2014 in: Recent Developments

Production will be resumed on the Kashagan field during the second half of the year, according to Sauat Mynbayev, head of national oil firm KazMunaiGas (reported by Tengri News).

The Kashagan project is reportedly one of the most challenging in the world – something which resonates with our discussions with customers and suppliers working on the project.

Head of KMG, Sauat Mynbayev

 

Production Problems

Production started in September 2013, but was suspended following discovery of a gas leak just two weeks later.  After production resumed, another leak was found in October, and production suspended pending investigation and a project to develop a long-term solution.

10 billion barrels of oil are thought to be recoverable from the Kashagan field, however the challenges presented are that the reservoir is highly pressurised, and the crude oil contains a high volume of ‘sour gas’.

Demanding Environment

According to Tengri News,

‘The development of Kashagan, in the harsh offshore environment of the northern part of the Caspian Sea, represents a unique combination of technical and supply chain complexity. The combined safety, engineering, logistical and environmental challenges make it one of the largest and most complex industrial projects currently being developed anywhere in the world.’

It is of course these very challenges which attract the most innovative technicians and suppliers to this developing market.  Talk to us if that’s somewhere you’d like to go.