Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Olzhas Bektenov, and the Executive Vice President of Shell PLC, Peter Costello, discussed the implementation of joint projects in the oil and gas sector, the press service of the Government of Kazakhstan informed.
Currently, under the Karachaganak expansion project, a priority is to maintain oil and condensate production at a level of no less than 11 million tons per year. To achieve this, the parties will ensure "timely installation of additional compressors for the injection of raw gas," the statement said.
To ensure the full operation of the expansion project, the construction of a gas processing plant at Karachaganak with a capacity of 4 billion cubic meters per year by the shareholders is currently being worked out.
During the negotiations, particular attention was paid to the stable operation of the Kashagan field. Over the past year, oil production there amounted to 18.77 million tons and gas production to 11.86 billion cubic meters, with gas reinjection into the reservoir reaching 5.83 billion cubic meters. The question of building a gas processing plant at Kashagan is currently being considered for the full-scale development of the field.
During the meeting, Prime Minister Bektenov emphasized the importance of increasing Kazakhstani content in project implementation, including through the localization of missing productions within Kazakhstan.
"At present, the share of local content in the operations of project operators is at an acceptable level, while the share of local content in procurement of goods remains extremely low. To address this, closer cooperation with local manufacturers interested in product output is necessary," said Olzhas Bektenov.
At the end of the meeting, the participants confirmed their intention for further development of long-term cooperation. Speakers also assured that in the near future, Kazakhstan would review the local content development program to increase procurement of goods, works, and services in the domestic market.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
March 18, 2024