BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 7. Construction of the 1 billion cubic meter (bcm) per year gas processing plant (GPP) at Kazakhstan's Kashagan field has reached 61.4% completion and remains on schedule for completion by the end of 2026.
The update was provided by Alibek Zhamauov, Chairman of the Management Board of QazaqGaz, during a government meeting, according to the government's press service.
Zhamauov noted that deliveries of the plant's main equipment have reached 98%. A total of 1,775 workers and 314 units of specialized machinery are operating around the clock at the construction site, enabling all construction and installation works to be completed by the end of next year.
The national gas company is also advancing several other strategic infrastructure projects. For the second string of the Beineu–Bozoi–Shymkent trunk gas pipeline, the basic design has been completed, engineering surveys are 98% finished, and the overall design progress has reached 35.56%.
Equipment orders have already been placed, while the first batch of pipes has arrived at Kazakhstan's border with China. Pipe distribution along the route is scheduled to begin in early August, followed by welding and installation in mid-August. The first shipment of gas compressor units is expected to leave the manufacturing plant in September.
"For the 2.5 bcm-per-year Kashagan gas processing plant project, the EPC contractor has been selected. The FEED+EPC contract is planned to be signed in the fourth quarter of this year," Zhamauov said.
In addition to the 1 bcm-per-year facility currently under construction, Kazakhstan also plans to build a second gas processing plant at Kashagan with a capacity of 2.5 bcm per year. Together, the two plants will be capable of processing up to 3.5 bcm of Kashagan gas annually. Construction is also underway on a separate gas processing plant in Zhanaozen with a capacity of 900 million cubic meters per year.
According to the North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC), Kashagan is one of the largest oil discoveries made in recent decades, with estimated recoverable oil reserves of approximately 9–13 billion barrels (1–2 billion metric tons). The reservoir is located about 80 kilometers offshore from Atyrau in the North Caspian Sea, in waters 3–4 meters deep, with the reservoir lying at a depth of more than 4,200 meters below the seabed.
