Kazakhstan Starts Kashagan Oil, Gas Production Facility

The North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC) on Monday announced the start-up of production facility at the Kashagan oil and gas field in Kazakhstan.

The occasion was marked by the presence of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and British Prime Minister David Cameron.

Once all milestones have been completed successfully, the integrated system will receive the first oil and gas from some 4,200 meters below the North Caspian Sea, the company said.

The oil and gas will be delivered by eight wells on the artificial A Island. The wells and the pipeline system are ready for production, whereas the offshore production and treatment facilities on D Island are in the final stages of commissioning, the company said.

At the onshore Bolashak Processing Facility, the preparations for start-up of the processing facilities have already been finalised some weeks ago with the initial introduction of so-called sweet gas from the Makat gas grid.

Over the course of 2013-14, the company expects production to be progressively ramped up to the design capacity from 180,000 b/d in the first stage to 370,000 b/d in the second stage.