7 Jul 2022 11:48

Kazakh president suggests bringing Tengiz oil project investors into Trans-Caspian route project

NUR-SULTAN. July 7 (Interfax) - Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has asked national oil and gas company KazMunayGas to look at the best options for the implementing the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route in order to diversify Kazakh oil supplies, the president's press office said.

"The Trans-Caspian route is the priority. I instruct KazMunayGas to find the best option to implement it, including by bringing Tengiz project investors into the project," Tokayev said after a meeting on developing the country's transport and transit potential.

The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route is an international transport corridor that runs through China, Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and further to Turkey and European countries. The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line gave an additional impetus to the development of the route and significantly cut the delivery time from China to Europe.

The Caspian Pipeline Consortium is currently the main export route for Kazakh oil, which accounts for 80% of all oil pumped by the CPC. Pipeline capacity is 67 million tonnes per year.

Kazakhstan stared talking about alternative export routes after the CPC stopped operating for nearly a month in March due to storm damage, and now a court ruling could halt the marine terminal's operations for another month.

The Tengiz oil field with oil reserves totaling 3.2 billion tonnes is one of Kazakhstan's largest oil fields.

Tengizchevroil or TCO develops the field.

TCO is carrying out Future Growth Project and Wellhead Pressure Management Project or FGP-WPMP at Tengiz totaling $45.2 billion. The project is to be completed in 2023.

TCO is owned by American ChevronTexaco Overseas with 50%, ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Ventures Inc. with 25%, Kazakhstan through the national company KazMunayGas with 20% and Russian-American JV LUKArco with 5%. The company has been operating in Kazakhstan since 1993.