Oil production on the Kashagan field could be resumed no earlier, than the first half of 2016, Kazakhstan Oil and Gas Minister Uzakbay Karabalin said on July 30, 2014.
He said the contract concluded between the government and the contractors in 2012 envisages compensation for delay of oil production. The contractors will pay $30 million a quarter for the delay.
The production on the Kashagan field started on September 11, 2013, but it was suspended on September 24, 2013, because of gas leakage.
It was planned to resume production at the end of January-early February 2014, but it did not happen.
Earlier Kazakhstan Minister of Economy and Budget Planning Yerbolat Dosayev said that oil production on Kashagan field is planned to begin no earlier than end of 2015 – beginning of 2016.
“Right now we have an idea of the scenario of repair and resumption of production. There are two options: the optimistic one – the production could be resumed on the field in the first half of 2016 and the pessimistic one – the second half of 2016,” Karabalin said.
