nCa Report
Kazakhstan’s oil industry has a rich history dating back over a century. The country’s first oil production began in the eastern Karashungul field in 1899, with an initial daily output of 22-25 tons. The oil was transported by camel to the coast of the Caspian Sea, where it was loaded onto ships.
Kazinform news agency has published information on the size of oil reserves in the fields of Kazakhstan.
Here is an abridged version of the article:
Black gold reserves
Currently, oil is produced in 289 fields in different regions of Kazakhstan. The oil reserves in these fields are estimated at 4.38 billion tons. Most of the oil reserves are located in fields located in the western regions.
At the same time, most of the “black gold”, the price per barrel of which changes daily on the world market, is produced in the Atyrau region. Now such large deposits as Tengiz and Kashagan are being developed jointly with foreign investors. In Atyrau region, the oil reserves are estimated at 3.2 billion tons.
This is 73% of Kazakhstan’s total oil reserves.
The next large reserve of hydrocarbon raw materials, called the oil gulf, was found in the deposits of the Mangystau region. The available oil reserve is estimated at 0.56 billion tons. Other regions with significant oil reserves include Aktobe (0.36 billion tons), Kyzylorda (0.12 billion tons), and West Kazakhstan (0.09 billion tons). The combined reserves of these regions account for the remaining 27% of Kazakhstan’s total oil resources.
According to the press service of KazMunaiGas JSC, over the first half year, the volume of oil and gas condensate production increased by 1.1% compared to the same period last year, reaching 11.9 million tons.
At the Tengiz field, oil production decreased by 3.7%, limited to 2.87 million tons. This is 126 thousand barrels per day. The gas production declined by 4.2% and amounted to 1.58 billion cubic meters. The temporary decline in May is due to planned maintenance.
Gas reserves
More than 85% of the gas is produced at three fields in the west of the country. Two deposits are located in Atyrau region, one in West Kazakhstan.
In 2023, gas production amounted to 59.063 billion cubic meters. Including 16.009 billion cubic meters at the Tengiz field, 22.385 billion cubic meters at Karachaganak, 11.856 billion cubic meters at Kashagan and 8.813 billion cubic meters at other fields.
The new KazMunaiGas strategy provides for increasing annual natural gas production to 6.7 billion cubic meters by 2030, not counting the development of the Tengiz, Karachaganak and Kashagan fields.
Last year, three new fields were put into commercial operation. These are the fields of Southern Aksai, Eastern Urikhtau and Rozhkov. KazMunaiGas plans to start production at the Central Oriktau field in the next 3-4 years. This is about 1 billion cubic meters of gas per year. The Western Prorva and Kalamkas fields will be commissioned in 2027. As a result, the gas production is anticipated to reach 1.1 billion cubic meters per year. Together with international companies, 12 exploration projects are being explored, and work is underway on additional exploration of existing fields, the company’s press service reported.
For example, at the Southern Aksai field, recoverable gas reserves amount to 1.7 billion cubic meters. 100 million cubic meters of gas are produced here annually.
The Eastern Urikhtau field in the Aktobe region, discovered in 2015, holds an estimated 4.7 million tons of oil and 2.5 billion cubic meters of dissolved gas. Despite the high concentration of hydrogen sulfide (3.5% or more), which poses technical challenges, the field is expected to produce 46 million cubic meters of gas in 2024.
Another promising gas field is “Rozhkov,” with an estimated recoverable gas reserve of 26.9 billion cubic meters. The Anabai field, which produced 6.847 million cubic meters of gas in 2023, is projected to reach 28.5 million cubic meters by the end of this year.
Oil exports routes from Kazakhstan
Now there are several routes for the delivery of “black gold” to the consumer. One of them is the Tengiz–Novorossiysk pipeline, which transports hydrocarbon raw materials from the Tengiz field to the Black Sea coast. Last year, over 56.51 million tons of oil were transported from the territory of Kazakhstan.
For example, the Tengiz field in Atyrau region delivered 27.46 million tons, Kashagan field – 17.89 million tons of oil, Karachaganak field – 9.61 million tons.
From 2021 to 1 January 2024, over 0.88 billion tons of oil were exported to the world market through the Tengiz-Novorossiysk pipeline. Now the possibility of transporting 72.5 million tons of oil per year from Kazakhstan’s fields through this pipeline is being considered.
KazTransOil JSC, a leading oil pipeline operator in Kazakhstan, has achieved a significant milestone, transporting over 1 billion 128 million tons of oil since its establishment in 1997.
Today, KazTransOil JSC owns 5.4 thousand kilometers of a diversified network of main oil pipelines. The company transports raw materials to national refineries and along 5 export routes – Atyrau-Samara, Kazakhstan-China, pumping oil into tankers in the port of Aktau, transshipment into the system of JSC Caspian Pipeline Consortium and loading into railway tanks.
Over the past 27 years, the national operator of main oil pipelines has transported about 40% of domestic products and 90% of raw materials.
Kazakhstan has been actively exploring alternative routes for its oil exports, including the Druzhba pipeline, which connects the country to refineries in Europe.
In response to a request from the German government last year, Kazakhstan agreed to supply oil through the Druzhba pipeline to the RSK Raffinerie refinery in Schwedt. Under the agreement, the parties aimed to export up to 102 million tons of oil annually. As of the end of 2023, 993 thousand tons had been exported via this route, with an additional 520 thousand tons delivered in the first five months of 2024.
Another advantageous export route is the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. To supply oil via this route, an agreement has been signed between JSC NC KazMunayGas and SOCAR. As part of additional transit routes through Azerbaijan, an agreement was reached on the transportation of 1.5 million tons of oil along the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan route. As a result, the monthly supplies reached 1 million tons.
Azerbaijan expresses its intention to increase the volume of Kazakh oil received to 2.2 million tons. As part of the general memorandum, a roadmap has been developed between KazMunayGas and SOCAR. The main goal is to increase the volume of transit of Kazakhstan’s oil through the territory of Azerbaijan. ///nCa, 3 September 2024 (the full version of the article is available here: https://en.inform.kz/news/125-years-of-progress-kazakhstans-journey-to-becoming-a-global-oil-and-gas-powerhouse-32e7f2/ )