KazMunayGas started drilling at Zhenis Block at end of 2022

ASTANA. Feb 1 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan's KazMunayGas (KMG) started drilling operations at the Zhenis Block in the Caspian Sea in late 2022.

"We have started drilling operations. They are in progress now. We started drilling at the end of last year," KMG CEO Magzum Mirzagaliyev told Interfax.

The drilling project was launched on schedule, he said.

KMG said earlier that drilling operations in the Zhenis Block would begin on December 15, 2022.

The Zhenis is situated at the block with the same name in the southern part of the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea. The design depth of the well is 3,300 m. The water depth in the drilling area is about 98 m. The nearest shore point is 50 km. The seaports of Kuryk, Aktau and Bautino are 117 km, 180 km and 315 km away, respectively, north of the block. The section boundaries are in close proximity to the state border between Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

Zhenis Operating LLP, a joint venture between Russia's Lukoil with 50% and KazMunayGas with 50%, is the operator of the project. The contract for exploration and production of hydrocarbons was signed on April 1, 2019. The minimum commitment is to drill one exploration well and conduct 3D seismic surveys with $60 million planned to be spent on that. The 2nd stage of work is estimated at $210 million.