Kazakhstan's Kashagan field suspends oil production for scheduled overhaul

ASTANA. Oct 7 (Interfax) - A scheduled overhaul began Monday at Kazakhstan's largest oil and gas field, Kashagan, the Energy Ministry told Interfax.

"The overhaul has begun," the ministry's press service said.

The overhaul project at the Kashagan oil field, initially set to begin on October 3, has been pushed back to October 7, the Energy Ministry said earlier.

Earlier, Kazakhstan's Minister of Energy Almasadam Satkaliyev informed journalists that the repairs at Kashagan are expected to last between 30 to 40 days.

"The Ministry of Energy has approved the scheduled maintenance for a duration of 40 days; however, the consortium management (NCOC) has indicated their intention to complete the repairs in a shorter timeframe of 30 days," he remarked.

The Kashagan field is one of the world's largest oil fields discovered in recent decades. Its recoverable reserves range from 9 to 13 billion barrels of oil. Commercial production at Kashagan started in 2016. In 2023, Kashagan produced 18.8 million tonnes of crude oil.

The shareholders of NCOC, the operator of the Kashagan field, are KMG Kashagan B.V. (16.877%), Shell Kazakhstan Development B.V. (16.807%), Total EP Kazakhstan (16.807%), AgipCaspian Sea B.V. (16.807%), ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Inc. (16.807%), CNPC Kazakhstan B.V. (8.333%) and Inpex North-Caspian Sea Ltd. (7.563%).