The Kashagan oilfield development in Kazakhstan may be delayed to restart if testing next month reveals that cracks remain in the offshore portion of its pipeline.
According to the North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC) sulphur-stress cracking “is the root cause of the pipeline issues.” The firm said it cannot give a restart date for the development until it determines what repairs are required.
The US$50 billion pipeline began production in September 2013, but was halted weeks later after gas leaks were detected in the pipeline’s network.
Asked when output could be restarted, Kazakh Oil and Gas Minister Uzakbai Karabalin said to Reuters: “It’s impossible to say anything right now…because suspicions have emerged that there may be micro cracks in the offshore stretch of the pipeline as well.”
Karabalin said that closer checks of the pipeline will begin in May once the ice in the shallow Caspian Sea has melted.
“Then it will be clear whether there are cracks in the offshore part of the pipeline network,” Karabalin said. “If they really are there, this would lengthen the duration of previously planned work.”
In February, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said it expected Kashagan to return to service in 2015, but below its initial production target of 370,000bbl/d "because technical challenges and high development costs may limit its expansion."
Kashagan is projected to reach 180,000bbl/d in its initial phase, then later 350,000bbl/d, and finally the ultimate target of 1.5MMbbl/d. The development sits 80km southeast of the Atyrau field in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea.
The Kashagan Field has reserves of up to 13 billion bbl/o, and is the main source of supply for the Kazakhstan-China pipeline.
Stakeholders in the field include:
Read more: http://www.oedigital.com/component/k2/item/4183-second-gas-leak-arrests-kashagan
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