Kazakhstan to Divert Kashagan Oil to China After Ukraine Drone Attack
Kazakhstan said on Wednesday it would redirect some oil from its Kashagan field to China and other routes after a Ukrainian drone attack last month on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium's Black Sea terminal in Russia.The decision was announced by the energy ministry after Reuters reported earlier this week that Kazakhstan plans to supply crude to China directly from Kashagan for the first time after the Ukrainian attack damaged the CPC terminal.The CPC…
Kazakhstan to Directly Supply Kashagan Oil to China Due to CPC Damage
Kazakhstan plans to supply 50,000 metric tons of crude to China directly from the vast Kashagan field in December for the first time after a Ukrainian drone damaged the Black Sea terminal of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), two sources told Reuters.The CPC, which accounts for 1% of global crude supply and includes Russian, Kazakh and U.S. shareholders, has had to reduce exports because a key part of its loading infrastructure - a single-point mooring (SPM) - was damaged in the attack.Currently…
Kazakhstan Resumes Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline Exports After Contamination Issues
Kazakhstan resumed oil supplies via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline on September 13, state energy company Kazmunaygaz said on Wednesday.Supplies via the route were suspended last month amid contamination issues.The BTC pipeline, which runs through Georgia to Turkey, is used mainly to export oil from the Azeri, Chirag and Guneshli oilfields, which are operated by BP.The pipeline is also used by Kazakhstan as a way to lessen its dependence on Russia as a main exporting route.
Kazakhstan continues to fine Kashagan consortium $4.4 billion
A source and an official document indicate that Kazakhstan's regional environmental department has imposed a fine of $4.4 billion on an international consortium working to develop the giant Kashagan oilfield. This is despite a long-running legal battle. The NCOC consortium which includes Eni Shell TotalEnergies ExxonMobil said that its shareholders strongly disagreed with any fine and would continue to pursue every avenue of recourse available against the decision.
Kazakhstan wants better terms for oil production sharing agreements
Kazakh President Kassym Jomart Tokayev ordered the government on Tuesday to intensify talks with international oil giants about an extension existing Production Sharing Agreements (PSA) at "better conditions". Central Asia is one of the top 10 oil producing countries in the world. It has a chequered past when it comes to international oil companies. They have been sued for billions of dollars. The government, according to foreign companies, is only seeking to increase the share of its oil and gas projects.
Kazakhstan's daily crude oil production at a record high amid Chevron led expansion
Official data show that oil production in Kazakhstan hit a record of 278 499 metric tonnes on Sunday, just a few days after the country began expanding its largest oilfield - Tengiz led by Chevron. Kazakhstan, which depends on Tengiz, and two other large fields, Karachaganak, and Kashagan for the majority of its production, is subjected to output targets because it's a member of OPEC+. This alliance of OPEC, other top producers, led by Russia, has set out specific output goals.
Data shows that Tengiz oilfield's output in December was 20% lower than planned.
Estimates based on data from the Kazakh energy ministry and analysis service SAC TEK show that output from Kazakhstan's largest oil field Tengiz operated by U.S. giant Chevron was 20% below its planned plan in December. This helped Kazakhstan meet its OPEC+ production target. Tengiz had been expected to return to full oil production early in December after a maintenance program that began late in October. Kazakhstan, which depends on Tengiz…
Sources say that a top Kazakh oilfield has reached a record production amid tensions between OPEC+ and the country.
Sources say that Tengiz, Kazakhstan's largest oil field, operated by U.S. giant Chevron, increased output to a new record in October. This could complicate the future efforts of Kazakhstan to meet its OPEC+ quota. OPEC+ named Kazakhstan, Iraq, and Russia among the top 10 oil producers in the world as having repeatedly failed to meet its commitments to reduce oil production for this year. Two industry sources said that Tengiz increased its daily production from 687,000 to 699,000 BPD in early October.
Kazakhstan asks for a delay in maintenance of the giant Kashagan Oilfield.
Trading sources familiar with the matter claim that Kazakhstan's Energy Ministry has asked shareholders to delay next year's maintenance, which was scheduled to start at the site on October 1st. Two sources claim that the ministry requested a delay in a letter sent to the partners of the North Caspian Operating Company consortium (NCOC), which operates Kashagan. The letter cited the fear of natural gas shortages during the winter season as the main reason. They added that a decision is expected on September 10.
Oil Majors to Raise $27Bln in Selling Spree
Global giants of the oil and gas industry – the so-called supermajors – are looking to sell assets that could fetch a total of $27.5 billion, according to Rystad Energy’s latest assessment.These companies are actively shedding mature assets on a massive scale in a bid to finance higher-yielding investments elsewhere, with the added benefit of pleasing shareholders who are calling for stricter capital discipline.“The expected transactions mean some of the majors are poised to exit certain regions…
Eni Continues High-speed Gulf Drive
In less than 12 months Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi has turned the Middle East from a sideshow to a strategic hub for the Italian energy major. And the shift is not over.Since last March the 63-year-old has clinched nine deals in the United Arab Emirates, gained a toehold in Bahrain and expanded in Oman to reshape the group's future.In the latest deal on Sunday, Eni pledged $3.3 billion to buy part of the world's fourth-biggest refinery in the UAE…
Caspian Pipeline Consortium Cuts CPC Blend Export Plan by 10%
The Caspian pipeline consortium (CPC) expects to pump about 60 million tonnes of CPC Blend <BFO-CPC> crude oil via the CPC pipeline this year, down from the previous plan for 67 million tonnes, the consortium told Reuters on Tuesday."We ... expect to pump around 60 million tonnes, but it (the export volume), of course, depends on producers," CPC said.On a daily basis, CPC Blend exports will be 10 percent lower than under the previous plan…
Kazakhstan says Rosneft Quits, Shell Joins Kazakh Oil Project
Russia's Rosneft has quit Eurasia, an early-stage oil exploration project in Kazakhstan, while Shell has joined it, an executive of the Kazakh company involved in the project said on Monday.The Eurasia project focuses on exploring a geological area known as the Caspian Depression in western Kazakhstan by drilling ultra-deep wells of up to 15 kilometres.Kazakhstan has estimated that the untapped lower levels of the geological structure could hold up to 60 billion tonnes of oil.
Kashagan Oil Output Down to 180,000 BPD
Oil production at the Kashagan oilfield has fallen to 180,000 barrels per day from 300,000 barrels per day around March 20, three industry sources told Reuters. It was not immediately clear what the reason was for the sharp fall in daily production. "It should be maintenance," - one source said, but added that it was not planned. North Caspian Oil Consortium (NCOC), the operator of the Kashagan oilfield, has not answered a request for comment.
KazMunaiGas Kashagan Gets Advance from Vitol
KMGK is using the funds to pay for its 8.48 percent stake in Kashagan, which it acquired in 2008. KazMunaiGas (KMG) increased its share in the Kashagan project in 2008 by 8.48 percent to 16.81 percent after equity participation of other consortium shareholders decreased in exchange for the government's permission to extend the budget and project time frame. "KMGK received an additional prepayment on August 10, 2017 for the amount of $600 mln and made early repayment of the second instalment … for a total sum of $804.4 mln…
Kashagan to Cut CPC Oil Supplies in Sept
Kazakhstan's giant Kashagan oil field will feed about 700,000 tonnes of oil into the CPC pipeline this month, 400,000 tonnes less than originally planned, a CPC official told Reuters on Thursday. North Caspian Operating Company, which operates Kashagan, did not reply to questions from Reuters about the reason for the reduction. Reporting by Olga Yagova; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov
Eni Inks Cooperation Deal with CNPC
Eni signed a cooperation agreement with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) on Wednesday in a move that could give the Italian oil major greater access to the Chinese market. Eni said in a statement it had agreed to work with state-owned CNPC in the fields of exploration and production, liquefied natural gas (LNG), trading and refining-petrochemicals. The deal will cover operations in China and abroad, it said, without giving further details.
Eni Confident of Dividend Even with Lower Oil Prices
Italian oil major Eni said on Friday its dividend was safe even at lower oil prices thanks to a string of major discoveries underpinning output growth and cash generation for the years to come. Eni, the most active of the foreign oil majors in Africa, has one of the best discovery records in the industry, with large gas fields in Mozambique and Egypt. More recently it also made an oil find in Mexico. Under its so-called "dual exploration" strategy…
Caspian Pipeline Eyes Expansion With New Oilfields
The Caspian oil pipeline will boost its capacity this year by some 47 percent thanks to new oilfields in the region including the giant Kashagan deposit in Kazakhstan, the director general of the consortium that owns it, Nikolai Gorban, said on Friday. The plans to boost the oil exports may undermine OPEC-led efforts to cut production of oil in order to reduce bloated global inventories and support sagging oil prices. The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC)…
EU Refiners Cash in Despite OPEC Cuts
Oil from Nigeria, Libya and Kazakhstan gives a boost; margins average 50 percent higher than Q1 2016 and Fuel oil cracks strengthen. A global deal to cut oil production has had the unintended consequence of aiding Europe's older refineries by bolstering supplies of light crude while curbing shipments of the heavier grades favoured by more advanced plants in other continents. These European units, long thought doomed by competition from state-of-the-art refineries in the Middle East…