The Kashagan field will be, possibly, launched at the end of 2015, said Kazakhstan Minister of Oil and Gas Uzakbay Karabalin at the 21st World Oil Congress in Moscow. He added that the difficulties with development of Kashagan field on the north of the Caspian Sea include climatic conditions, peculiarity of bedding of the oil petroliferous stratum and chemical composition of hydrocarbons.
“Last year when we launched the well on the field everything worked great– the most complex equipment onshore and artificial island also worked normal. But we have jointly failed with the simple pipe,” he added.
“We are going to replace the pipes. There are microscopic cracks on the pipes and nobody can work on such a dangerous field now. We will need some time to order the pipes, deliver and weld them. Another difficulty is that Kashagan is located in the environment protection area,” Minister said.
“Therefore, we expect that we will be able to launch the field anew till the end of 2015,” Karabalin said.
He added that the issue of launching of the field will affect Kazakhstan’s economy, reported Kazinform.
“This is a serious issue. This year we planned to receive additional 8 million tons of oil. This means that this field has collapsed. We have to resign ourselves to that and make sure that next launching of the field is reliable and long-lasting,” he said.
The 21St World Oil Congress, which is held from June 15 through 19, is the biggest event in the world oil and gas industry. It has gathered about 5,000 delegates from 80 world countries.
