Kalamkas-Khazar Operating receives license to develop of Kalamkas Sea, Khazar and Auezov oil fields

ALMATY. April 17 (Interfax) - Kalamkas-Khazar Operating LLP has been granted a license for the production of hydrocarbons in the oil fields Kalamkas Sea, Khazar and Auezov, Kazakhstan's national oil and gas company KazMunayGas (KMG) said in a press release, which was published on the website of the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE).

"On April 11, 2023 the Kazakh Energy Ministry KazMunayGas and Kalamkas-Khazar Operating LLP signed supplement No.1 to the contract for the production of hydrocarbons at the blocks Kalamkas Sea, Khazar and Auezov located in the Caspian Sea. In accordance with the supplement,, Kalamkas-Khazar Operating LLP became the subsoil use under the contract," the press release says.

Kazakhstan's Energy Ministry and KazMunayGas earlier signed the first contract, which is based on a new model contract for the production of hydrocarbons. The contract was aimed at granting the subsoil use rights for the development of the Kalamkas-Sea, Khazar and Auezov. Russia's Lukoil was chosen as the strategic partner in this project.

The project will include payment of a signature bonus of $32 million, attraction of over $6 billion of direct investment and creation of around 2,000 work places at the initial stage of the project.

KMG and Lukoil in November 2022 discussed cooperation in offshore exploration in Kazakhstan's sector of the Caspian Sea, including implementation of the joint projects Zhenis and Kalamkas-Sea/Khazar. In June 2022, the companies signed an additional agreement on commercial terms of the project.

Kalamkas-Sea, Khazar and Auezov fields lie offshore the Caspian Sea about 60 km away from the coast and at a depth of 7-9 meters. The production is expected to start in 2028 and will total 3-4 million tonnes per year. The development costs are estimated at about $5 billion.

Kalamkas-Sea, which was discovered in 2002, is located 120 km southwest of Kashagan and very close to the Khazar field. The combined recoverable reserves of the Kalamkas-Sea and Khazar fields are estimated at 67 million tonnes of oil and 9 billion cubic meters of gas.