MOSCOW, Jan 20 (Reuters) – Oil production at Kazakhstan’s giant Tengiz field, one of the world’s largest, may be suspended for another seven to 10 days following a shutdown on Sunday, three industry sources told Reuters, reducing crude exports through the Caspian Sea Pipeline Alliance.
Operator Tengizchevroil (TCO) said on Monday that production at the Tengiz and Korolevskoye fields has been halted due to power supply problems.
KazMunayGas, the state-owned national oil and gas company of Kazakhstan, said a fire broke out in two turbine transformers at the GTES-4 power station in the field one day earlier, on January 18.
“TCO production will drop until the end of this week, but this may continue into February,” one source said.
Three sources added that TCO has canceled five export cargoes of CPC blended crude, totaling about 600,000 to 700,000 tonnes, which were scheduled to be shipped from CPC Black Sea terminals in January and February.
Chevron, TCO’s largest shareholder, confirmed that “TCO has temporarily shut down production at its Tengiz and Korolev fields as a precautionary measure.” The company declined to comment on operational details and financial matters. The sources requested anonymity.
The TCO press service confirmed to Reuters on Tuesday that production at Tengiz and Korolevskoye has been temporarily suspended “as a precautionary measure.” It did not specify the cause of the fire at the production facility or a date for resumption of production.
Other producers are ramping up output, sources said
A source familiar with the data said the decline in Tengiz oil production had not yet affected Kazakhstan’s overall output as other producers increased extraction.
Due to CPC export restrictions, Kazakhstan’s crude oil production in the first 12 days of January fell by 35% compared with the average daily production in December.
However, over the next few days, production from the vast Caspian Sea fields of Kashagan and Karachaganak began to increase rapidly, sources said.
From January 1 to 19, Kashagan’s average daily oil production was 197,000 barrels, an increase of 28% from the average daily production in the first 12 days of the month. According to Reuters calculations based on data provided by sources, Karachaganak’s average production from January 1 to 19 was 156,000 barrels per day, 21% higher than the previous average production.
Tengiz’s average oil production from January 1 to 19 was 360,000 barrels per day, 6% higher than the average from January 1 to 12, sources said, citing daily operating statistics.
