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Oil and gas industry of the Kyzylorda region
Venera Dzhiembayeva, analyst at the Information and Analytical Support Department of Analytical Center of Oil and Gas JSC
The oil and gas sector is one of the leading industries of the region's economy, 70% of the region's industrial production is provided by oil and gas production.
The territory of the Kyzylorda region belongs to the Turgai oil-bearing basin, the largest oil fields of which are Akshabulak, Kumkol, Konys, and North-Western Kyzylkia. There are 14 oil and gas companies operating in the region. In terms of hydrocarbon production, the region accounts for 6% of oil production and 1.6% of gas production in the Republic of Kazakhstan (as of 2019).
Oil and gas condensate production in 2019 in the Kyzylorda region amounted to 5.6 mln tons, on average 15.2 thous. tons per day (the indicator for Kazakhstan is 248.1 thous. tons per day). At the same time, there is a depletion of oil and gas fields in the region, and as a result, there is an annual decline in oil and gas production. So, if in 2010 the share of the region accounted for about 14% of the total volume of oil produced in the country, by 2019 its share decreased by 2.3 times, down to 6%.
The peak of oil production in the region was in 2007 when its volume reached 11.7 mln tons. After the peak period, the decline amounted to an average of 5% annually, and since 2014 by 10-15%. The decline in production volumes is primarily due to the fact that a significant part of the fields is depleted, as well as an increase in the water content of existing fields.
A special contribution to oil production in the region is made by joint ventures with the participation of NC KazMunayGas JSC: JV Kazgermunai LLP (ranked 8th out of more than 100 subsoil users in the country with a share of 2.5%), PetroKazakhstan Kumkol Resources JSC and Turgay Petroleum JSC. They account for up to 65% of the region's production. Also, among the major oil-producing companies in the region, Kolzhan LLP and South Oil LLP stand out with an annual production volume of 400-500 thous. tons.
For gas production, the Kyzylorda region accounts for only 1.6% of the total production in the Republic of Kazakhstan. As in the case of oil, there is a decrease in gas production in the region. Thus, in 2010, about 1.6 bln cubic meters were produced, and by the end of 2019, gas production in the region reached only 910.4 mln cubic meters. The average daily production amounted to 2.5 mln cubic meters (154.5 mln cubic meters per day countrywide).
The largest volumes of gas production in the region are accounted for by such companies as JV Kazgermunai LLP, PetroKazakhstan Kumkol Resources JSC, and JV KuatAmlonMunai LLP. Their share amounted to more than 80% of the region's production in 2019 (Fig. 5).
The region mostly produces associated gas, more than a third of which is used for its own needs. Natural gas is produced only by CNPC Ai-Dan Munai JSC in the amount of more than 60% of the company's total gas production (25.9 mln cubic meters in 2019). About half of the gas produced in the region is supplied to the GPP, mainly gas from the fields of JV Kazgermunai LLP.