Astana, Kazakhstan, Jan.5
By Daniyar Mukhtarov - Trend:
The final report on the causes of leakage in the pipelines at Kazakhstan's Kashagan oil and gas field will be ready in 2015, Kazakh Energy Ministry told Trend.
"Currently, the investigation on revealing the causes of the pipelines' failure is in the final stage," said the ministry. "The final report on the investigation will be made public by the operator of the North Caspian project in 2015."
Production at Kashagan field was completely suspended after leaks were detected in the sulfur dioxide gas and oil pipelines of the field after starting the production in September 2013.
Kazakh Energy Ministry said that it is planned to resume the production at Kashagan in late 2016.
"The work on North Caspian Project for 2014-2015 mainly includes the work on the complete replacement of pipelines and completion of the construction and pre-commissioning work," said the ministry.
Kazakh minister of energy and representatives of the project's operator - North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC) - and the participating companies of North Caspian Sea Production Sharing Agreement (NCSPSA) signed an agreement on December 13, 2014. The terms of the agreement are not disclosed for privacy.
Three days before the singing of the agreement, public hearings were held in Atyrau on the environmental impact assessment of the 'Project for construction of facilities under the program for the pilot development of Kashagan field 'Offshore flowlines Adjustment'.
It is about replacement of the oil and gas pipelines linking the D island with Bolashak complex oil and gas treatment plant on the land along the entire length.
While speaking at the public hearings in the region, NCOC managing director Stephan de Mayu said that according to the agreement, the Kazakh side will not bear the expenses of replacing the pipelines. However, he was unable to name the expenses of this replacement.
"I will not disclose the figures till all tender procedures are over and the general contractor is chosen to avoid any speculation," he said. "I can only say that we are talking about several billion dollars."
Stephan de Mayu said that PSA limited partnership (Kazakhstan's 16.8 percent share in the North Caspian Project) and the Energy Ministry control over spending the Kazakh side's funds.
He said that the pipeline welds cracked.
"We made some conclusions," he said. "We focused on other companies during the tender for the pipe production. These were not those companies which obtained the orders last time."
The new pipelines will be made of nickel to avoid further leaks. It is more resistant to sulfur oil and gas.
Moreover, he said that while constructing the new pipelines, a number of measures will be taken to protect the environment.
"Kashagan" field is located in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea and covers an area of approximately 75 by 45 kilometers. The field collector is at the depth of about 4,200 meters.
"Kashagan" field development in the harsh marine conditions in the north of the Caspian Sea is a unique combination of technological complexities and difficulties in the supplies. These difficulties are connected with the safety of production, solutions to the engineering, logistics and environmental tasks. This makes this project one of the largest and most complex industrial projects in the world.
The consortium members on the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) of the North-Caspian project are also the shareholders of NCOC ("North Caspian Operating Company"). They have the same shares as in NCOC PSA.
Edited by CN
