Kazakh KMG Boosts Profit by 44%
Kazakhstan's state-run KazMunaiGas (KMG) has reported a 44% year-on-year rise in profit to tenge 520bn ($1.59bn). Its capital expenditure amounted to $1.98bn, up 15%, while net debt was $4.036bn.
The company’s natural and associated gas production rose 8% to about 8bn m3/yr (or about 15% of total Kazakh gross gas output), it said March 20.
The consolidated volume of oil and gas condensate production across the KMG group of companies amounted to 23.362mn metric tons, a 3% increase year on year: 27.1% of whole Kazakh production. The country as a whole is aiming for 87mn metric tons for 2018.
Kazakhstan plans to increase total gross gas production by only 1% to 53.5bn m3 in 2018. The 14% rise last year was due to the restart of the giant offshore Kashagan sour oil field in October 2016, which contains 1 trillion m³ of associated gas. Karachaganak, whose value lies in condensates, accounted for 49% of Kazakhstan's gross gas output, which is sold cheaply to Gazprom for processing in Orenburg in Russia; while Tengiz provided 31% and Kashagan 14%. Approved recoverable gas reserves in the country are 3.9 trillion m³, of which a third is dry and the rest is associated gas.
Kazakhstan increased its gas exports by 26% year on year to 17.3bn m³ in 2017, the energy ministry said February 25. Resumed production at the Kashagan field and a Chinese deal to buy more gas were significant factors.
The central Asian republic in October 2017 signed an agreement to step up exports to China to 5bn m³/yr, compared with less than 0.5bn m³ exported in 2016.
KMG wholly owned KazTransGas (KTG) had started up a gas dehydration plant of 10bn m3/yr capacity, close to its Bozoi underground gas storage, the company announced late December.