Investments in the Kalamkas-Sea deposit may amount to $70 billion

The North Caspian Operating Company, operator of Kashagan, is exploring the possibility of joint development of its Kalamkas Sea field and the nearby Khazar (Pearl block) of the Kaspi Meruerty Operating Company BV.

The investment package for development of the Kalamkas-Sea field in the Kazakhstan sector of the Caspian Sea can reach $70 billion, Rashid Zhaksylykov, the chairman of the presidium of the Union of Oilfield Services Companies of Kazakhstan, told the Interfax-Kazakhstan.

"The only thing that we look forward to from NCOC is the development of the Kalamkas field, which will be identical to the Kashagan field, and the investment package there will be very large, and we expect around $70 billion, if Kalamkas is started," he said in an interview with the agency.

"The concept has already been approved by investors, the head of state is interested and the support of the Kazakh side was officially announced, and now work is being done at the level of lawyers and financiers," R.Zhaksylykov added.

In his opinion, Kazakhstani experts have overcome the level of complexity in the development of offshore fields due to their experience working with the Kashagan field.

"If Kalamkas starts, then the speed of introduction of the facility will be rapid. First, we know the companies that can do this, and Kashagan's investors already have diplomatic and friendly relations and can coordinate quickly. That is, the NCOC team has been formed,” the interlocutor noted.

In February, the head of the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan Kanat Bozumbayev said that his department plans to reach final agreements on the joint development of the Kalamkas-Sea and Khazar offshore fields by the consortiums of North Caspian Operating Company and Kaspi Meruerty Operating Company BV this year.

"According to the Khazar and Kalamkas-Sea development project, negotiations are ongoing this year, we expect to achieve positive results," the minister said at the time.

"The total recoverable reserves of these two fields are 67 million tonnes of oil and 9 billion cubic metres of gas, and we hope that the cost savings resulting from the joint development of these fields will ensure the economic efficiency of the development of these deposits and the possibility of developing other deposits in the Middle Caspian,” the NCOC said.

The Kalamkas-Sea deposit is located in the north-eastern part of the Kazakhstan sector of the Caspian Sea.

In 2013, the NCOC announced a commercial discovery at the Kalamkas-Sea field. According to some reports, the geological reserves of this field were estimated at a minimum of 160 million tonnes of oil, and according to more optimistic forecasts - up to 1 billion tonnes. The NCOC plans to begin oil production at its Kalamkas-Sea field in 2022.

According to the PSA, four oil-bearing structures are included in the contract area of the drilling operations of the consortium: Kashagan, Kalamkas, Aktoty, Kairan. These structures consist of 11 sea blocks, covering an area of about 5.6 thousand square km.

The Khazar field is located in the water area of the Caspian Sea, it is located in the contract area of the Pearl Sea offshore section, the operator is the Kaspi Meruerty Operating Company BV, in accordance with the Production Sharing Agreement, with exploration and production rights in the contract territory signed December 14, 2005.

The parties to the PSA are Shell, Marine Oil Company KazMunayTeniz, a subsidiary company of KazMunaiGaz, Oman Pearls Company Limited.

The field was discovered in September 2007, when industrial oil inflows were obtained from the Middle Jurassic deposits during the testing of the 1st exploratory well.

Two of the three shareholders of KMOC, Shell and KazMunaiGaz, are simultaneously major shareholders of the North Caspian project. Commercial feasibility and the availability of common shareholders allows to combine development of deposits in order to avoid duplication of costs.

After Atameken Business Channel (Kazakhstan).

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