Kashagan Field

Kashagan Field is an oil field located in Kazakhstan. The field is situated in the northern part of the Caspian Sea close to the Kazakhstan city of Atyrau. The field was discovered in 2000 and was one of the larger discoveries in that decade, it is estimated that the Kashagan Field has commercial reserves from to of oil. The field is offshore in a harsh environment, where sea ice is present in the winter and temperatures from -35 °C (-31 °F) to 40 °C (104 °F) can be encountered. Commercial production is expected to start by the end of 2012, according to Kairgeldy Kabyldin, the chief executive of Kazakhstan's state oil and gas company KazMunaiGas.It has been designated as the main source of supply for the Kazakhstan-China oil pipeline. Kashagan which is considered the world's largest discovery in the last 30 years and Tengiz rival the 22 billion barrels of the US oil reserves.

History

The Kashagan Contract area covers an area of over in the Caspian Sea. The field contract area consists of five separate fields, producing formations from the Precaspian Basin. These fields are Kashgan, Kalamkas A, Kashagan Southwest, Aktote and the Kairan. Kashgan was discovered first in 2000 and Kairan most recently in 2003. However some of the later finds have yet to be declared commercial.

The area covering the Kashagan...
Read More