Official talks COVID-19 possibly affecting Kazakhstan's Tengiz field operations

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jul. 8 By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend: COVID-19 situation will not affect the projects implementation and oil extracts plans at Kazakhstan’s Tengiz oil and gas field, Atyrau region Head Makhambet Dosmukhambetov said, Trend reports with reference to Kazakh media. "No doubt, everyone is worried about what will happen to Tengiz. First of all, oil and gas production is expected to see no changes. Field’s operator Tengizchevroil (TCO) ensures the safety of production. Secondly, the main work on the Tengiz expansion project including the construction of large facilities, the plant of the third generation and other facilities continues without delays. TCO did not make changes to the plans and terms of the project," Dosmukhambetov said. He added that however, the COVID-19 situation may affect the project deadlines in some ways, while expressing hope that TCO, with the support of the akimat’s office, will be able to do everything possible to carry out work in its entirety. "There are no plans to decrease extraction volume. The exception is possible requirements within the OPEC+ agreement. The situation is under control and it should not affect field’s operation," he said. On May 20, 2020, Kazakhstan’s Chief Sanitary Doctor Aizhan Yesmagambetova said that operations at TCO-operated Tengiz oil and gas field may be suspended if number COVID-19 cases among the field’s staff continues to increase. The Tengiz oil field was discovered in 1979 and is one of the biggest and deepest oil fields in the world. The total explored reserves of Tengiz reach 3.2 billion tons, while recoverable reserves range from 890 million tons to 1.37 billion tons. In 1993, Tengizchevroil LLP, which is the project operator, was established on the basis of an agreement between Kazakhstan and Chevron. Presently, Tengizchevroil includes Chevron (50 percent), ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Ventures Inc. (25 percent), KazMunayGas (20 percent) and LukArco (5 percent). --- Follow the author on twitter: @nargiz_sadikh