Kashagan Oil Field

Summary Information

• Operator: ENI
• Country: Kazakhstan
• Location: North Caspian Sea
• Production start: 2013
• Partners:
  • ENI (18.52%),
  • Shell (18.52%),
  • ExxonMobil (18.52%),
  • Total (18.52%),
  • ConocoPhillips (9.26%),
  • KazMunayGas (8.33%)
  • Inpex (8.33%)
• Type: Oil
• Estimated Reserves: 35 billion barrels of oil in place
• Production Volume:

+++ Description

• The Kashagan field, named after a 19th century Kazakh poet from Mangistau, is one of the world's largest oil discoveries of the last forty years.
• The Kashagan field is located in the Kazakhstan sector of the Caspian Sea and extends over a surface area of approximately 75 kilometers by 45 kilometers. The reservoir lies some 4,200 meters below the shallow waters of the northern part of the Caspian Sea.
• The development of Kashagan, in the harsh offshore environment of the northern part of the Caspian Sea, represents a unique combination of technical and supply chain complexity. The combined safety, engineering, logistical and environmental challenges make it one of the largest and most complex industrial projects currently being developed anywhere in the world.
• Low salinity, due to the in-flow of fresh water from the Volga River, combined with shallow waters and winter temperatures below minus 30 degrees mean that the northern part of the Caspian Sea freezes for nearly five months of the year

+++ Contractors

• **Keppel:** fabricate pipe racks and build four barges
• **Saipem:**
  • Construction and installation of the offshore pipeline system
  • Drilling activities
  • Fabrication, assembly, transport and installation of 45 piles and 2 flares, along with the installation of 16 module barges
• **Emtunga:** 3 living quarters modules
• **Petrofac:** engineering and procurement for the onshore oil, gas and sulphur plants
• **Fluor:** Management of the onshore construction effort and self-performance of all in-country construction activities for the Onshore Processing Facility
• **Dietsmann:** Maintenance activities of the onshore and offshore facilities

+++ History

• 2000 - Oil discovery at the Kashagan East 1 well
• 2001 - BP Sells 9.5% Kashagan Stake to TotalFinaElf
• 2004 - Saipem awarded pipeline contract
• 2004 - Petrofac awarded contract for oil, gas and sulphur plants
• 2005 - Fluor awarded processing facility contract
• 2005 - Keppel awarded barges contract
• 2008 - Letter of Intent signed with Worley Parsons / Aker / CB&I JV for Provision of Front End Engineering and Design Services (FEED) - Phase II for the Kashagan Full Field Development
• 2010 - JBIC Natural Resources Development provides Financing for Kashagan Oil Field in the North Caspian Sea
• 2012 - ConocoPhillips Announces Intention to Sell Interest in Kashagan to ONGC
• 2013 - Kazakhstan announces it will pre-empt the sale to ONGC
• 2013 - First oil produced

+++ Geology

• An oil-bearing interval in the Palaeozoic Carbonates below 4,000 metres
• The field is highly pressured (770 bar of initial pressure).
• The crude oil that it contains has high ‘sour gas’ content

+++ Links

1. North Caspian Operating Company
2. Agip KCO
3. Emtunga Offshore Platform References
4. Kazakhstan Oil Discovery
5. AGIP KCO Provision of Front End Engineering and Design Services (FEED) - Phase II for the Kashagan Full Field Development - Kazakhstan
6. Natural Resources Development Financing for Kashagan Oil Field in the North Caspian Sea
7. Keppel wins US$150 million contract in Kazakhstan
8. BP Sells Kashagan Stake to TotalFinaElf
9. Fluor Wins Kashagan Construction Project
10. Saipem wins the Kashagan pipeline contract offshore Kazakhstan amounting to 520 million USD
11. Saipem wins new 286 million USD offshore contract in Kazakhstan
12. Saipem awarded new drilling contracts amounting to over 285 million usd
13. Petrofac Enters Kazakhstan Market with Kashagan Award
14. ConocoPhillips Announces Intention to Sell Interest in North Caspian Sea Production Sharing Agreement (Kashagan)
15. ConocoPhillips Notified of Republic of Kazakhstan’s Intent to Pre-empt ConocoPhillips’ Sale of Kashagan Interest
16. Eni: first oil from the Kashagan field has been produced
17. Dietsmann wins three Operation and Maintenance contracts in Kazakhstan
18. Wood Group GTS joint venture secures contract in Kazakhstan’s Kashagan oil field