ASTANA, Kazakhstan, May 20. Chairman of the Management Board of KazMunayGas, Askhat Khassenov, met with Peter Costello, chief of Shell’s exploration and production division, Trend reports.
In the course of the meeting, the parties discussed the current operations of the multinational corporation in Kazakhstan within the framework of the North Caspian and Karachaganak projects.
According to the information, in the first four months of this year, production at Kashagan - including KMG’s slice of the pie - hit the mark at 6.118 million tons of oil. The goal for 2025 is to hit the bullseye at 17.8 million tons. With the sky being the limit in this field, Khassenov drove home the point that all hands need to be on deck, concentrating on comprehensive development plans for Kashagan. He underscored the need to put local value creation front and center while boosting Kazakhstani content.
Moreover, oil production at the Karachaganak field, including
KazMunayGas’s share, totaled 3.8 million tonnes in the first four
months of 2025, exceeding the plan.
“For the full year, production targets at Karachaganak are set at
11.14 million tons of oil and 25.57 billion cubic meters of gas. It
was noted that KazMunayGas, as a partner in the Karachaganak
project, is concerned about the lack of progress in advancing the
construction of a gas processing plant at the field, which is
intended to process 4.5 billion cubic meters of raw gas annually,”
the statement of KazMunayGas reads.
Meanwhile, the two sides also discussed workforce development and skills enhancement for Kazakhstani personnel, including secondment of KazMunayGas specialists to Karachaganak Petroleum Operating B.V.
Another topic of the meeting was cooperation in geological exploration. Following a global roadshow conducted by KazMunayGas in 2024 to attract investment in exploration projects, Shell expressed interest in several promising sites.
“KazMunayGas is open to new forms of cooperation, including joint investment projects in Kazakhstan. We see Shell as a priority partner in implementing our long-term strategy,” Khassenov underscored.
The companies signed an agreement to effectively utilize seismic survey data for planning joint geological exploration. In particular, Shell is currently involved in the joint exploration of the Mugodzhar project in the Aktobe region of Kazakhstan.
