News 2014
May, 2014Kashagan
It will take about two years to replace the pipes at the Kashagan field, where oil production has been stopped due to a gas leak two weeks after the start of the operation, said Minister of Oil and Gas of Kazakhstan Uzakbai Karabalin. “I expect it will take up to two years (to replace the pipes)”, Karabalin told Reuters.
Production at Kashagan was stopped in September last year, two weeks after the start due to a gas leak. Another leak was discovered almost immediately after the resumption of production in October 2013. The analysis that was conducted during several months revealed numerous cracks in the pipeline, appeared as a result of the impact of highly sulfurus accompanying gas on the metal.
According to the information from the Minister of Economy and Budget Planning of Kazakhstan Erbolat Dossayev, the delayed start of production at Kashagan would result in a loss of 0.5% of GDP in the current year. "Maybe (production will start) by the end of 2015, if all is well, if not, then, probably, at the beginning of the year 2016," predicts Karabalin.
The Minister added that the government of Kazakhstan awaits proposals from the participants of the consortium regarding the volume of works required at the site: "The Examination is over. We need to get their work plans, where everything will be specified: when, what they are planning to purchase, who will be hired and how soon”. The following companies will take part in the project: KazMunayGas, Italian Eni, American ExxonMobil, Anglo-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell, French Total and Japanese Inpex. In addition, Chinese company CNPC bought 8,33% of the project from KazMunayGas.