Plans For Kashagan Oil Expansion Continue, Gas Project Delayed

The new natural gas project resulting from a planned oil expansion at the Kashagan field in Kazakhstan has been delayed by three years, according to people familiar with the matter.

• Kazakhstan aims to increase oil production of the field by 2mn t to 18mn t in 2023.
• The planned gas facility, also eyed for 2023, has been delayed to no earlier than 2026.
• The project has been hampered by changes of ownership. Initially, Qazaqgaz wasn’t involved in construction of the processing plant. Instead, it was expected to be built by a private investor.
• In June, the government agreed to take the gas-processing project as a gift from the private TOO Tau Bereke Group and pass it to state-run Qazaqgaz, according to the prime minister’s press office website.
• Oil production at Kashagan was restored to near capacity in the first week of November.
• Total Kazakh output of crude and condensate rose to 1.89mbpd in Nov, up by 348k b/d from Oct.