Daily oil output at Kazakhstan's Tengiz field cut over 50% owing to suspension of shipments to CPC
ASTANA. Nov 28 (Interfax) - Daily oil production at the Tengiz field in Kazakhstan has been slashed to 39,000 tonnes from the usual 84,000 tonnes owing to restrictions on receiving oil at the marine terminal of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) because of the unfavorable weather conditions, Shyngys Ilyasov, advisor to Kazakhstan's energy minister, said in a statement.
"Owing to weather conditions and restrictions on receiving at the CPC, daily production of oil at the Tengiz field has been reduced to 39,000 tonnes," Ilyasov told reporters on Tuesday.
Consequently, daily production has fallen more than 50%.
According to the analytical center of the Kazakh Energy Ministry, the output of crude oil and gas condensate in the republic has dropped by 16% over the past few days: from 253,100 tonnes on November 25 to 214,500 tonnes on November 26 and to 212,300 tonnes on November 27.
CPC said on Monday that they had halted oil loading at the marine terminal due to adverse weather conditions, causing limited oil intake into the system. Additionally, the tank farms are approaching full capacity, resulting in reduced rates for receiving oil from shippers.
The Tengiz field, was discovered in 1979 in west Kazakhstan, is one of the world's deepest producing super giant fields. Estimated oil in place in the Tengiz field is 3.2 billion metric tonnes. The operator of the Tengiz field is Tengizchevroil, a joint venture between the Republic of Kazakhstan and Chevron Corporation organized in April 1993. The current partners are Chevron with 50%, KazMunayGas with 20%, ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Ventures Inc. with 25% and Lukoil with 5%.
The 1,511 km CPC pipeline connects oil fields in western Kazakhstan and Russian fields on the Caspian shelf with the marine terminal in Novorossiysk. The system is the main export route for Kazakh oil, accounting for more than 80% of Kazakhstan's volumes pumped through the pipeline. In 2022, the pipeline transported and exported 58.7 million tonnes of oil, which is 3.3% less than in 2021. CPC is currently implementing a debottlenecking project which will increase its throughput capacity to 83 million tonnes a year by the end of 2023.
CPC's shareholders are the Russian Federation with 31%, with Transneft managing 24% and 7% on the balance sheet; KazMunayGas with 19%; Kazakhstan Pipeline Ventures LLC with 1.75%; Chevron Caspian Pipeline Consortium Company with 15%; LUKARCO B.V. with 12.5%; Mobil Caspian Pipeline Company with 7.5%; Rosneft-Shell Caspian Ventures Limited with 7.5%; BG Overseas Holding Limited at 2%; Eni International N.A. N.V. S.ar.l. with 2%; and Oryx Caspian Pipeline LLC with 1.75%.