TotalEnergies sheds Kazakh oilfield, backs wind project

TotalEnergies has sold an oilfield in Kazakhstan and backed a project to build the Central Asian country's biggest wind farm, the French major announced on December 1, hailing the moves as supportive of its energy transition strategy.

Two days earlier TotalEnergies said it had reached a deal to sell its 60% interest in the Dunga oilfield in Kazakhstan to local firm Oriental Sunrise, for $330mn. The field nets the company 7,400 barrels of oil equivalent/day of production.

TotalEnergies secured a contract extension for Dunga only a year ago, giving it rights to the field until 2039, compared with a previous expiry date of 2024. The company took a final investment decision on its third-phase development in 2019, which Kazakh authorities say will lift its output to over 17,000 boe/d. 

The company has also signed an agreement with state sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna and state oil firm KazMunayGas (KMG) that is set to be the country's biggest wind farm, with a generation capacity of 1 GW, comprising 200 turbines and 600 MWh of battery storage. The company has also brought on stream two solar power plants in the country, with a combined capacity of 128 MW.