Oil production resumed at Kashagan
ALMATY. Oct 7 (Interfax) - Production at the Kashagan field, which was shut down because of a gas leak, has resumed.
"Oil production at the Kashagan field resumed on October 6 after the repair work was completed," the Kazakh Ministry of Oil and Gas said.
As reported, a minor gas leak was detected 2.5 km from the plant in a buffer area during a routine inspection of the pipeline linking the D Island and the Bolashak facility on September 24. The operation of the wells was suspended on September 25.
The Bolashak facility, located 35 km east of Atyrau (the administrative center of the Atyrau Region), is one of the key production units of the North Caspian Project. Bolashak will process oil and gas extracted from the Kashagan field.
Oil production at Kashagan began on September 11.
The shareholders of the North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC), the operator of the North Caspian Project, which includes the Kashagan field, are Agip Caspian Sea B.V. (16.81%), KMG Kashagan B.V. (16.81%), ConocoPhillips North Caspian Ltd. (8.4%), ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Inc. (16.81%), Inpex North Caspian Sea Ltd. (7.56%), Shell Kazakhstan Development B.V. (16.81%) and Total EP Kazakhstan (16.81%).
The Kashagan operator assesses the field's recoverable resources at 11 billion barrels and the overall in-place oil at nearly 35 billion barrels. Kashagan is considered the second largest oil field in the world following Prudhoe Bay oil field in Alaska opened in 1968.
