Kazakhstan's energy ministry said on Friday it expects a significant reduction in oil production during planned maintenance at its giant Kashagan oilfield in October.
The ministry said Kazakhstan reaffirmed its commitment to the OPEC+ agreement and was taking measures to fully fulfil its obligations and comply with a compensation plan submitted to the OPEC Secretariat.
Sources told Reuters this week the ministry had earlier asked Kashagan operators to delay the maintenance due to concerns about possible shortages of natural gas, which is also produced at Kashagan.
But delaying the maintenance could make it harder for Kazakhstan to meet its OPEC+ commitments after the country exceeded its quota in the first half of this year and planned to start offsetting that overproduction.
"Delaying maintenance was only one of the options considered during internal discussions, but it was never adopted," the ministry said in a statement.
"The ministry confirms that the maintenance of the Kashagan field will proceed as scheduled starting Oct. 3, as explained during (its) call with secondary sources as well as during the visit of OPEC Secretary General to Astana last week."
(Reuters - Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Anastasia Teterevleva; Editing by Andrew Osborn and Jan Harvey)
