Quarantine Declared at Top Kazakh Gas Field: Press
A quarantine has been imposed at the Karachaganak oil and gas field in west Kazakhstan after a case of Covid-19 was confirmed, local health authorities announced on May 23, according to Kazakh press.
Entry to and exit from the field's territory is prohibited and a curfew is in effect from 19:00 until 07:00. There are also restrictions on the movement of workers within the camp.
The field's operating consortium Karachaganak Petroleum Operating (KPO) said on May 22 that a worker had tested positive for Covid-19 and had been moved to a regional infectious diseases hospital for treatment. Those that had contact with the person have been identified and placed in isolation.
KPO said it was following the orders of local health authorities and was doing everything it could to prevent the spread of the virus.
Karachaganak is Kazakhstan's biggest source of gas, flowing 18.6bn m3 of gas last year. Some 8.7bn m3 were re-injected to maintain reservoir pressure, while most of the rest was supplied to Russia for processing. KPO's shareholders are Anglo-Dutch Shell and Italy's Eni, each with 29.25%; US Chevron with 18%, Russia's Lukoil with 13.5% and Kazakhstan's KazMunaiGas with 10%.