World Monitor Magazine WM_Energy_ 2019_web | Page 9

DESTINATION KAZAKHSTAN
increased oil production by more
than three times from 1990-2018.
According to OPEC, the results of last
year reveal that our state is included in
the TOP-10 of oil exporting countries.
The decisive contribution to the
parameters of Kazakhstan’s oil
production over the years of
independence was made by three super-
giant projects: Tengiz, Karachaganak
and Kashagan. Currently, the combined
share of these projects is about 60% of
the total oil production in the republic.
These projects provided an impetus to
form a favorable investment climate
in the country, as well as interest from
the largest transnational corporations
in the development of the Kazakhstan
economy.
A pioneer in this area is the TCO project,
which is being implemented jointly
with Chevron, ExxonMobil and Lukarco.
If in 1993 the volume of production
at Tengiz amounted to about one
million tons of oil, then in recent years
it has exceeded 28 million tons. Over
the past 25 years, the cumulative
production volume at TCO is more
than 430 million tons, direct financial
payments to Kazakhstan exceed 140
billion US dollars. And this is far from
the limit. In the next few years, the
Future Expansion Project/Wellhead
Pressure Management Project will be
completed, which will increase annual
production to 39 million tons or 850
thousand barrels per day.
Since 1998, the Karachaganak field
has been important for Kazakhstan.
Over the 20-year-
project, the production of
liquid hydrocarbons has
increased six times and
exceeded 12 million tons
per year, gas production
has grown eight times
and amounts to about 18
billion m3 per year. The
accumulated profit of the
state in the form of a
share of production and
taxes exceeds $30 billion.
Currently, in addition to the Kazakhstan
side, such world giants as Shell, Chevron,
Eni and Lukoil are participating in
the project. As well as under the TCO
project, in the long term, growth and
maintenance of the production shelf is
envisaged.
A special role in the development of the oil
and gas industry in Kazakhstan is played
by the Kashagan offshore field. And here
it is necessary to note another world
trend – the end of the easily recoverable
oil period. According to forecasts by
ExxonMobil and the Society of Petroleum
Engineers (SPE), by 2030 only half of the
liquid hydrocarbons will be produced from
traditional onshore fields.
The other half will be in low-
permeability reservoirs, offshore and
deep-water deposits, etc. According
to Wood Mackenzie, offshore projects
account for about 20% of the increase
in oil reserves on the planet since 1990.
At the same time, almost every recently
discovered field has a set of problematic
factors that significantly increase the
financial and time costs for preparing
the stage of commercial operation.
Kashagan was no exception. A unique
set of difficulties in the implementation
of the project, the need for
fundamentally
new
technological
solutions and significant investments,
conflicts around the status of the
Caspian, etc. did not allow large-scale
development to begin. However at the
same time, the solution to these most
complex problems of the field has
now enabled the production of about
13 million tons of oil per year. In the
medium term, it is expected to reach
a level of about 20 million tons. In
addition, the experience of Kashagan
will be the starting point for the
implementation of other potentially
large projects on the Caspian shelf.
A significant contribution of Kazakhstan
to the development of the global oil and
gas industry may be the implementation
of the Eurasia project. According to
current BP data, only a dozen countries
of the world with oil production of more
than one million barrels per day have the
oil supply for more than 20 years. This
number also includes Kazakhstan with
proven reserves of about four billion
tons. But this figure can significantly
increase.
At the beginning of the second decade
of the 21st century, a large-scale work
was carried out in Kazakhstan on a
comprehensive study of all sedimentary
basins in the country. Giant hydrocarbon
reserves may be contained in the bowels
of the Caspian depression, most of which
is located in Kazakhstan. It is predicted
that their discovery, including through
the Eurasia project, can increase the
resource potential of our country by more
than three times. At the same time, it
is planned to re-process geological and
geophysical materials from previous
years, conduct large-scale geophysical
studies on identified regional profiles,
drill a record ultra-deep (up to 15 km)
parametric vertical well, as well as use the
most innovative geological technologies
and equipment.
It seems that the project will serve to
create a new platform for expanding
international scientific, engineering,
investment and technological cooperation
in the global oil and gas market. In
addition, in many respects, due to Eurasia,
supported by EUROBAK
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