Kashagan oil field still working at half capacity - - minister

ALMATY. Oct 11 (Interfax) - Oil production at Kazakhstan's largest oil and gas field, Kashagan, has slowed since August, as repairs continue, Kazakh Energy Minister Bolat Akchulakov said.

"Oil production at Kashagan amounted to 8.7 million tonnes or 17% below the target for January-September 2022. Production fell after a leak at the gas separation unit at the Bolashak plant in August," Akchulakov said at a government meeting on Tuesday.

"The operator is carrying out repairs to restore production levels as soon as possible. Today, the field is operating at half of its capacity," the minister said.

Akchulakov said earlier that production at the Kashagan field would resume by the end of October.

Production operations were halted at the Kashagan field on August 3 after a gas leak at the Bolashak oil and gas processing facilities.

North Caspian Operating Company, which operates the Kashagan field, in the early hours of August 10 announced a "gradual resumption in production" that had been suspended since August 3 owing to a gas leak at the Bolashak facilities.

Kashagan is considered one of the largest fields discovered in recent decades. Its recoverable reserves range from 9 billion to 13 billion barrels of oil. Commercial production at Kashagan began in the autumn of 2016.