NCOC is developing a new gas re-injection project concept

The North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC, Kashagan operator) consortium is developing an alternative concept for a gas re-injection project that will increase production at the Kashagan field to 450 thousand barrels per day, it is scheduled for implementation after the completion of the first phase (pilot production), the General Director of PSA LLP Murat Zhurebekov. This writes Interfax-Kazakhstan.

“450 thousand barrels per day is already a new concept, which the consortium is currently developing, and will soon present its vision to us,” the Director General told reporters on the sidelines of the World Petroleum Council meeting on Tuesday in Astana PSA LLP Murat Zhurebekov.

At present, the first phase of field development, pilot industrial development, is being implemented in Kashagan. After it, it was planned to start the gas injection project “Centre of Koprimirovaniya-01” (CC-01) to achieve a production level of 450 thousand barrels per day. After CC-01, phase 2 should follow.

“TsK-01 is an old concept, it is still on our table, but in parallel we are working on other alternatives that can lead us to increase to those indicators that we talked about before than TsK-01, ”M. Zhurebekov specified.

According to him, the name of the project, which could be an alternative to the project of CC-01, has not yet been approved.

“So far this is being discussed at the level of such ideas among engineers,” the head of PSA added.

“For (increasing production up to 450 thousand barrels per day.), it is possible, perhaps, to upgrade the current two compressors, and, possibly, also to transfer some of the production wells to injection wells,” R.Zhurebekov explained.

According to the concept of development of the field, which was reported in 2016, the project of gas re-injection into the reservoir “Compression Centre - 01" (CK-01) was planned to be implemented within five years, from 2019 to 2024. According to its results, production at Kashagan should be increased from 370 thousand to 450 thousand barrels per day.

In December 2016, the Vice-Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan Magzum Mirzagaliyev reported that the cost of the project TsK-01 at Kashagan will be $5 billion.

“The project is called Compression Centre . As part of it an additional island will be built, which will be equipped with compressors. Through these compressors, gas will be re-injected into the reservoir,” M. Mirzagaliyev said earlier.

“The implementation of this project is aimed at increasing hydrocarbon production. If we plan to produce 370 thousand barrels per day as part of stage-1, then after the completion of CC-01 we will be able to reach the level of 450 thousand barrels per day. This will additionally give our country more than $4 billion at a price per barrel of $50,” M. Mirzagaliyev noted then.

The NCOC began the pilot development of Kashagan in 2016 (ODA, first phase).

Energy Minister Kanat Bozumbayev told reporters that currently 340 thousand barrels per day are being mined at the field, and it is also planned to increase the production bar to 370 thousand barrels per day in the coming months.

“We are expecting 370 thousand barrels in the coming months. Now we have 340 thousand barrels (per day) already,” he told reporters on Tuesday in Astana.

As previously reported, according to the initial plans of the NCOC consortium developing the Kashagan field, it was planned to reach the level of 370,000 barrels per day by the end of 2017, however, technical difficulties arose due to problems with reservoir uptake. In the middle of March 2018, the operator stopped a number of wells for gas production and injection into the reservoir, and production at Kashagan was reduced from 300 thousand b/d to 214 thousand b/d. Then, by the end of April, mining returned to the level of 300 thousand b/s.

Kashagan is the first offshore oil and gas field in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea, as well as the largest international investment project in the country. Commercial production at the field began on November 1, 2016.

NCOC shareholders are KMG Kashagan B.V. (16.877%), Shell Kazakhstan Development B.V. (16.807%), Total EP Kazakhstan (16.807%), Agip Caspian Sea B.V. (16.807%), ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Inc. (16.807%), CNPC Kazakhstan B.V. (8.333%), Inpex North Caspian Sea Ltd. (7.563%).

PSA was established in June 2010 by the KazMunayGaz national company, then 100% of the LLP was transferred to the trust management of the Ministry of Oil and Gas of Kazakhstan, after the department was simplified, the company was transferred to the Ministry of Energy. In the period from 2010, PSA performs the functions of an authorised body in production sharing agreements for the North Caspian and Karachaganak projects.

Reported by Kapital (Kazakhstan).

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