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.
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, increasing its…
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, Reuters calculations show.The original plan was based on producers' annual requests…
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. Oil production at Kashagan reached 300…
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), the only private large oil pipeline in Kazakhstan and Russia…
Kashagan Oilfield May Produce Up to 11 mln T in 2017
Kazakhstan's Kashagan oilfield may produce up to 11 million tonnes (221,000 barrels per day) in 2017 in the absence of major technical faults, the Energy Ministry said on Tuesday in a written response to Reuters. "The forecast for Kashagan oil production is between 4 and 8 million tonnes. However... in the absence of technological complications, Kazakhstan expects Kashagan's output at 11 million tonnes," the ministry said about the 2017 plans. (Reporting by Alla Afanasyeva; writing by Vladimir Soldatkin)
Transit of Kazakh Oil via Atyrau-Samara Could Reach 17 mln t in 2017
Russia's oil pipeline monopoly Transneft said Kazakhstan oil transiting via the Atyrau-Samara pipeline could rise by as much as 2 million tonnes in 2017 to 17 million tonnes, due to the start of supplies from the Kashagan oilfield. That would amount to 340,000 barrels a day. Transneft head Nikolai Tokarev said that the company had already held preliminary talks with shareholders of Kashagan on transit volumes. The Kashagan field off Kazakhstan in the Caspian sea is expected to start production in October and reach 180…
OPEC Points to Larger 2017 Oil Surplus as Rivals Keep Pumping
OPEC raised its forecast of oil supplies from non-member countries in 2017 as new fields come online and U.S. shale drillers prove more resilient than expected to cheap crude, pointing to a larger surplus in the market next year. Demand for crude from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will average 32.48 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2017, OPEC said in a monthly report on Monday. That is down 530,000 bpd from the previous forecast. The prospect of a larger surplus than expected adds to the challenge of OPEC and non-members such as Russia…
OPEC Points to Larger 2017 Oil Surplus
OPEC raised its forecast of oil supplies from non-member countries in 2017 as new fields come online and U.S. shale drillers prove more resilient than expected to cheap crude, pointing to a larger surplus in the market next year. Demand for crude from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will average 32.48 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2017, OPEC said in a monthly report on Monday. That is down from the previous forecast of 33.01 million bpd.
Kashagan Oil Production to Resume in 2017
Production from Kazakhstan's giant Kashagan oilfield is expected to resume in 2017, more than three years after being suspended due to a pipeline leak, stake holder Royal Dutch Shell said. Operations at the major field, expected to reach production of 300,000 barrels of oil equivalent, started in September 2013 and were halted a month later due to gas leaks from the sour gas pipeline. Italian oil service company Saipem said last month it had won a contract to lay the replacement pipelines at Kashagan worth around $1.8 billion.
Saipem Frontrunner for Kashagan Pipeline Contract
Embattled Italian oil services group Saipem is in pole position to win a contract worth up to $2 billion to replace pipes at the Kashagan oilfield in Kazakhstan, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday. Saipem has had 10 billion euros ($11.31 billion) wiped from its value over the past two years, hit by two profit warnings, a corruption investigation in Algeria and a grim industry outlook, but the new Kashagan tender could provide a timely boost before it announces 2015 targets next month.
Less Kazakh Crude, Pipeline Impacts Black Sea Liftings
Crude oil and refined oil product shipments from Georgia's Black Sea port of Batumi fell 22.7 percent in 2014 from a year earlier, a senior official at the terminal said on Monday. Bad weather in Kazakhstan, where the oil is produced, lower-than-expected output from the Kashagan oilfield at the beginning of the year and re-routing part of oil shipments to the Baku-Tbilisi Ceyhan pipeline contributed to the decline, said the official, who declined to be identified.
Kashagan Pipe Repairs to hit $3 bln
The consortium developing Kazakhstan's giant Kashagan oilfield will have to spend more than $3 billion to replace faulty pipes before output at the deposit resumes in the second half of 2016, a senior Kazakh official said on Wednesday. Production at the Caspian Sea reservoir, the world's biggest oil find in recent times, started in September last year but was halted just a few weeks later after the discovery of gas leaks in the $50 billion project's pipeline network.
Batumi Oil Liftings Down 25 pct YTD
Crude oil and refined product shipments from Georgia's Black Sea port of Batumi were down 24.6 percent in the first 10 months of the year from a year earlier, a senior official at the terminal said on Monday. Bad weather in Kazakhstan, where the oil is produced, and lower-than-expected output from the Kashagan oilfield at the beginning of the year contributed to the decline, said the official, who declined to be identified. The Batumi terminal, operated by Kazakh state energy company KazMunaiGas…
Asia-Pacific Crude-Firmer; Exxon Ramping up Indonesian Output
The Asia-Pacific crude market firmed on Wednesday as trading for July-loading cargoes got underway with regional refiners gearing up purchases for peak summer demand, while trading of regional condensate cargoes for July-loading had yet to start, traders said on Wednesday. Malaysia's Petronas may have sold a cargo of medium sweet Labuan crude for July-loading to Shell at around $6.50 per barrel above Dated Brent, traders said, although the details could not be verified.
Kashagan Consortium: Oil Production Not Expected in 2014
A consortium developing Kazakhstan's huge Kashagan oilfield said on Monday it did not expect to produce oil in the offshore field this year due to leaking pipelines. "The current assessment, based on the results of an investigation, is that both the oil and the gas pipelines might have to be fully replaced," the consortium also said. The North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC) consortium includes Eni, Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell , China's CNPC, Japan's Inpex and Kazakh state-run KazMunaiGas.
Kashagan Output May Not Start Till 2016
Output at Kazakhstan's huge Kashagan oilfield may not start until 2016, the Financial Times said on Sunday, citing Kazakhstan's minister for economy and budget planning. Erbolat Dossayev told the FT he hoped production could be restarted late next year. "But if not, we will wait until 2016," the FT cited him as saying in an interview. Production at the offshore deposit, the world's biggest oil find in 35 years, started in September but was halted in early October after the detection of gas leaks in the $50 billion project's pipeline network.
Kazakhstan "Disappointed" Over Kashagan Setback
Kazakhstan's oil and gas minister said on Thursday he was disappointed over the slow development of the giant Kashagan oilfield, but he saw no legal reasons to put pressure on the consortium which oversees the offshore project. The Central Asian nation of 17 million relies heavily on oil exports, and the setback in development of the huge Kashagan field could be a drag on state coffers. Delayed output at Kashagan has unsettled Kazakh authorities, which have already sued the consortium operating the field for 134 billion tenge ($737 million) over ecological damage…
Kashagan Oilfield Not Expected to Produce Much This Year
France's Total does not expect much oil output, if any, from the giant Kashagan oilfield in Kazakhstan this year and it is awaiting results of further analyses to assess the costs and delays facing its consortium partners. Production at the offshore deposit, the world's biggest oil find in 35 years, started in September but halted in early October after the detection of gas leaks in the $50 billion project's pipeline network. Kazakh Oil and Gas Minister Uzakbai Karabalin said this week that output may not restart this year if test results…
