Kazakhstan, Astana, 29 April / Trend D.Mukhtarov /
Shareholders of the Karachaganak Petroleum Operating (KPO) international consortium have not yet made a decision on the start of the third phase of the Karachaganak field's development, chairman of the Kazakh national company KazMunaiGas Lyazzat Kiinov said at a press briefing in Astana on Monday.
"With regard to the third stage, the CPO shareholders along with the Ministry of Oil and Gas and the government's Board of Oil and Gas have decided not to start the third phase yet," Kiinov said.
According to him, the consortium will retain its gas production at the same level of eight billion cubic meters per year. He recalled that the produced gas is supplied to Russia for reprocessing at the Orenburg gas processing plant (OGPP). Kazakhstan receives the same amount of gas from Russia through swap transactions to secure its northern regions.
"We have an agreement with Gazprom, whereby we can take back all the processed gas to Kazakhstan and use it," Kiinov added.
As previously reported, the Government of Kazakhstan and the Russian side are engaged in long negotiations for the price of gas supplied by KPO to the Orenburg plant. The Kazakh side is not satisfied with the low price for the Karachaganak gas offered by Russia.
As previously reported, the start time of the third phase of the field's development, which provides for an increase in gas production, directly depends on the decision to be adopted by Russia and Kazakhstan
"Most likely, the third phase of the field's development will start in 2018,"a KPO senior representative told Trend.
The Karachaganak field located in western Kazakhstan with reserves of 1.2 billion tons of oil and condensate and over 1.35 trillion cubic meters of gas is one of the largest oil fields in the world. Karachaganak produces about 49 per cent of all gas and 18 per cent of oil produced in Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan completed the acquisition of a 10 per cent share in the KPO consortium in late June. As a result of the agreement, stakes in the Karachaganak consortium were distributed as follows: BG (29. 25 per cent), Eni (29.25 per cent), Chevron (18 per cent), LUKOIL (13.5 per cent) and Kazakhstan (10 per cent) .
