Tengiz expansion project to be completed in late 2024 - Kazakh energy minister

ASTANA. March 26 (Interfax) - The Future Expansion Project (FGP) and the Wellhead Pressure Management Project (WPMP) at the Tengiz oil and gas field in west Kazakhstan are scheduled for completion at the end of 2024, Kazakh Energy Minister Almasadam Satkaliyev said.

"The Future Expansion Project and the Wellhead Pressure Management Project (FGP-WPMP) at Tengiz are behind the original schedule. The reasons behind the delay in the project are objective and associated with the safety and quality of works. We expect the project to be completed at the end of this year "Satkaliyev said at a Tuesday briefing.

In January 2024, it was announced that the launch of the future expansion project (FGP) would be postponed until the second quarter of 2025, and the wellhead pressure management project (WPMP) until the second quarter of 2024.

"On December 15, 2023, Tengizchevroil LLP [the Tengiz field operator] sent an appeal to its partners for approval, requesting to postpone the launch of the WPMP facilities to the second quarter of 2024 from December 2023, and to postpone the future expansion project to the second quarter of 2025 from June 2024," the Energy Ministry told Interfax on January 18, 2024.

Satkaliyev told reporters in October 203 that the launch of the FGP-WPMP had been postponed for six months.

The Tengiz oil and gas field is one of the largest in Kazakhstan, with oil reserves amounting to 3.2 billion tonnes. The field is being developed by Tengizchevroil (TCO), which is implementing Future Growth Project (FGP) and Wellhead Pressure Management Project (WPMP) in Tengiz with a total cost of $46.7 billion (original cost was estimated at $45.2 billion). The project completion initially scheduled for the end of 2022, is now postponed until Q2 2025. The project will increase TCO annual production by 12 million tonnes.

The current partners of Tengizchevroil LLP are Chevron (50%), ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Ventures Inc (25%), Kazakhstan through KazMunayGas (20%) and Lukoil (5%).