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Kashagan News

28 Nov 2023

Black Sea Storm Disrupts Russian and Kazakh Oil Exports

Š Vladimir / Adobe Stock

A severe storm in the Black Sea region has disrupted up to 2 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil exports from Kazakhtsan and Russia, according to state's officials and port agent data.Oil loadings from Novorossiysk and the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal in nearby Yuzhnaya Ozereyevka have been suspended since last week.Kazakhstan's largest oilfields - Tengiz, Kashagan and Karachaganak - are cutting combined daily oil output by 56% from November 27 as the storm disrupts loadings at CPC…

28 Dec 2022

AD Ports, Kazmortransflot in Caspian Sea Offshore Services JV

Credit: AD Ports

UAE-based AD Ports Group and KMTF (Kazmortransflot), an offshore logistics and services subsidiary of the Kazakh National Oil Company (KazMunayGas), have signed a deal to launch a joint venture that will provide offshore and shipping services for energy companies in the Caspian Sea.The joint venture will be 51 percent owned by AD Ports Group and 49 percent owned by KMTF. The two companies also signed a deal to pool tanker resources."The joint venture, which will look at investments opportunistically will offer a broad range of services…

23 Aug 2022

Russian, Kazakh Crude Oil Exports Hit by SPM Repairs

In August 2022, while performing scheduled maintenance on SPM-1 and SPM-2, divers discovered cracks in subsea hose attachments to buoyancy tanks (Note: a buoyancy tank is a hollow air-filled vessel designed to keep subsea hoses in a necessary configuration). ŠCPC

Russian and Kazakh oil exports via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium's (CPC) Black Sea terminal face at least one month's disruption each once repairs begin on two of its three single point moorins (SPMs), CPC confirmed on Tuesday.Oil exports via the two SPMs have been suspended due to equipment damaged by bad winter weather, CPC said on Monday, confirming a Reuters report on Saturday.CPC added that a planned inspection of the third SPM at the Yuzhnaya Ozereyevka terminal would require it to be temporarily shut for a matter of hours.

18 Nov 2019

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, giving regional players and independents a chance to buy into key fields and help keep them profitable through production-life extensions and new developments…

01 Mar 2017

Offshore Innovation: A Real ‘Riverboat’

Image: Vard

Central Asia is a booming oil region not far from the Persian Gulf. Energy companies ply the big lake to rack up staggering barrel counts at elephantine oilfields with names like Tengiz (Kazakhstan) or Kashagan (Azerbaijan). Painstaking, oil-fueled nation-building is underway across an oil province, where very shallow water hinders plant and equipment moves by platform supply vessels. Until now — new module-carrying vessels, or MCVs will float high-capital cargoes through Russia’s river system and across the Caspian shallows to Chevron’s Tengiz Extension project.

20 Oct 2016

ACE Winches Introduces New 500te Linear Winch

Photo: ACE Winches

At this year’s Offshore Energy exhibition, global deck machinery specialist ACE Winches announced a new 500te Linear Winch to its range of specialized deck equipment. The company will showcase its range of products and services supplied to European clients operating within marine, renewables and oil and gas sectors. In recent months ACE Winches has delivered equipment and services for a number of key projects for European based companies, worth over £1.4 million. These projects have varied in type…

14 Oct 2016

Kazakhstan's Kashagan Ships First Oil for Export

The first batches of oil from the giant Kashagan oil field in Kazakhstan were shipped for export on Friday via two pipelines, the Central Asian nation's Energy Ministry said.   Energy majors developing the field have shipped 7,700 tonnes of oil through the private CPC pipeline and 18,800 tonnes through a pipeline operated by state-controlled firm KazTransOil, it said in a statement. (Reporting by Raushan Nurshayeva; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Alexander Winning)

23 Apr 2015

Eni CEO Drafts in Former Boss to Pave Way for Saipem Sale

Stefano Cao has been brought back by Eni to turn around the oil service subsidiary Saipem that he spent nearly 25 years working for and prepare it for a sale, according to people familiar with the plan. Italian state-controlled oil major Eni has been mulling for years the idea of cutting its 43 percent stake in Saipem to somewhere below 30 percent, mainly to get 4.4 billion euros ($4.7 billion) of debt off its balance sheet that has been a brake on its own growth. But falling oil prices and setbacks that culminated last year in Saipem losing the lucrative South Stream gas pipeline project forced Eni to put the plan on hold. Saipem shares have fallen more than 60 percent in the past two years…

05 Jan 2015

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. The Batumi terminal, operated by Kazakh state energy company KazMunaiGas , shipped 4.355 million tonnes of oil and oil products last year, down from 5.634 million tonnes in 2013. Shipments in December were 441,675 tonnes, down from 457,033 tonnes in December 2013, but up from 423,940 tonnes in November.

03 Nov 2014

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 , shipped 3.490 million tonnes of oil and oil products during the 10 months, down from 4.631 million tonnes in the same period of 2013. Shipments in October were 266,791 tonnes, down from 612,751 in October 2013 and from 403,435 in September this year.

29 Apr 2014

Offshore Energy Timeline:1806-2014

1806  - Spring pole cable drilling developed in US. 1844  - Fluid circulating rotary well drilling patented in England. 1845  - Circulated fluid used to remove drill cuttings for first time. 1860  - Fluid circulation rotary diamond coring drill developed in France. 1869 – T homas Fitch Rowland  patents  a “submarine drilling apparatus,” a fixed, working platform for drilling offshore to a depth of almost 50 feet. The anchored tower had telescoping legs, similar to modern offshore platforms. 1878  - First bulk oil tanker begins operation in the Caspian Sea. 1891  - First ocean-going tanker launched. 1897  - Wells drilled off piers in Summerland, Calif. 1905 – Oil discovered in the Caddo Pine Island field in Lousiana. 1911  -  Gulf Refining Co.

29 Apr 2014

Statoil Reports Robust Q1

Oseberg field centre - Photo Harald Pettersen - Statoil.

Norway's Statoil defied gloom in the oil sector by reporting first-quarter earnings above expectations on Tuesday due to higher prices and good results from shale gas activities in the United States, lifting its shares. Regarding new sanctions on Russia, Statoil's CEO told Reuters it was too early to say whether he would attend a high-profile St Petersburg economic forum in June as planned, as the firm had to assess the impact of the measures first. Oil firms have seen their profit margins decline due to a rise in costs as crude becomes more difficult to extract and several big projects…

28 Apr 2014

Kashagan Consortium: Oil Production Not Expected in 2014

Kashagan Oilfield location. Photo: Uwe Dedering

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.

27 Apr 2014

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. Earlier this month French major Total said no oil production was to be expected from Kashagan this year and it was not likely to yield much next year either.

11 Sep 2013

First Oil Produced From Kashagan Field

Eni announces that first oil from the giant Kashagan oil field has been produced. The oilfield is located in the North Caspian Sea, approximately 80 kilometers southeast of Atyrau, in Kazakhstan. Eni holds a 16.81% stake in the consortium for the development of Kashagan and through Agip KCO is responsible for developing and start of production of the field. The other partners in the consortium, represented by the operator NCOC (North Caspian Operating Company) which operates within the North Caspian Sea Production Sharing Agreement (NCSPSA), are KazMunayGas (16.81%), ExxonMobil (16.81%), Shell (16.81%), Total (16.81%), ConocoPhillips (8.4%) and Inpex (7.56%). In the initial phase output will grow up to 180,000 barrels per day.

03 Oct 2012

Italy's ENI in Kazakahstan Shipyard Joint Project

Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev & Eni CEO Paolo Scaroni consulted in Astana during the VII Kazernergy Eurasian Forum. During the meeting, described as cordial and constructive, Eni's CEO shared the developments and results of the company's ongoing activities in the country with the President, affirming Eni's positive vision of the primary importance projects that Kazakhstan presents, such as the Kashagan and Karachaganak. The President was informed of joint projects for building a shipyard in the Caspian Sea and a gas turbine power plant in West Kazakhstan region. Eni's CEO also updated President Nazarbayev on the progress of the agreement of cooperation and mutual understanding…

10 Jul 2012

Keppel, Consortium Secure Jackup Contract

Keppel Kazakhstan LLP (Keppel Kazakhstan) and its consortium partner Ersai Caspian Contractor LLC, Kazakhstan (Ersai Caspian Contractor), have secured a contract from Teniz Burgylau LLP (Teniz Burgylau), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of JSC NC "KazMunayGas" (KazMunayGas) of Kazakhstan, for a KFELS B Class jackup rig worth US$242 million. Scheduled for delivery in 1Q 2015, the jackup rig will be deployed in the Caspian Sea when completed. The work scope of the rig will be shared equally among the two members of the consortium. According to the Oil and Gas Journal dated January 2010, Kazakhstan's proven oil reserves was estimated at 30 billion barrels and its natural gas reserves at 85 trillion cubic feet.

30 Aug 2010

STX Norway Offshore to Build Icebreaker Tugs

STX Norway Offshore has signed contracts for the building of two icebreaker tugs to JSC Circle Marine Invest. The vessels will be delivered in 2011, and the total value of the two contracts amounts to approximately $71.4m. JSC Circle Marine Invest will through its subsidiary Caspian Offshore Construction in Kazakhstan operate the vessels in the Kashagan field of the northern Caspian Sea. The vessels are designed by the STX Europe subsidiary Aker Arctic, and have a length of 213.2 ft and a beam of 53.8 ft. The vessels will have the Ice class notification 1A* Super, according to the Finnish-Swedish Ice classification rules. Further, the vessels will be equipped and designed for other operations like firefighting, rescue operations and towing in shallow waters.

08 Jul 2010

Saipem Wins $1B Offshore Deal

Saipem has been awarded new offshore contracts worth over 1 billion euro. The contracts refer to activities to be carried out between 2010 and 2012 in the main offshore areas where Saipem is present, in particular in the Caspian Sea, both in the Kazakh and Azeri sectors, Brazil, the Middle East, West Africa, the North Sea and Mexico. The operations will be performed by Saipem’s most powerful fleet vessels and include the laying of sealines, field development, as well as platform fabrication and installation. Among the major awarded contracts, in Kazakhstan, Saipem has signed an extension of the ‘Kashagan Trunklines’ contract with Agip KCO for the installation of the pipeline system connecting the offshore production facilities.

08 Feb 2001

Kashagan Operator Pick To Come Soon

Kazakhstan's first deputy prime minister expects OKIOC, a consortium exploring the giant offshore Kashagan oil deposit, to appoint a project operator within two weeks. Kashagan is seen as potentially the largest oil find in the world in the last 30 years, and could make the vast Central Asian nation of 15 million a leading world oil producer within the next 20 years. But development of the field is still years away, and the nine-member Offshore Kazakhstan International Oil Company (OKIOC) has yet to name an operator for the project. First Deputy Prime Minister Danial Akhmetov said he saw some progress on issue. "I believe the decision on the operator can be expected within the next 15 days," he said.

24 Oct 2008

Aker Solutions 3Q Results

Aker decided to change the set-up of the two business and Products & Technologies to reinforce its deepwater position. The changes involve an integration of Aker Marine Contractors and our Well Service and Geo business units into the Subsea business area. In combination with our ownership and cooperation with Aker Oilfield Services, the new structure will also leverage Aker’swell intervention services offering. Until now these business units have been part of the Products & Technologies business area. In addition the drilling riser business will be transferred from Subsea to the Products & Technologies business area. On 22 August Aker Solutions ASA acquired an additional 30 percent of the shares in Aker Marine Contractors from for USD 80.30 million.

14 Apr 2009

Cashman, Caspian Sea Accommodations

Cashman Equipment Corporation was awarded a three year contract by AGIP KCO, ERSAI, SAIPEM to provide living accommodations for 580 personnel in the Caspian Sea in the Kashagan field. Cashman Equipment constructed 108 buildings in its yard in Amelia, converted two ex Navy Barges at Conrad in Amelia & Morgan City, and built two new ABS barges at Conrad in Orange, Texas and Amelia, all within a six month period. The barges are now being loaded in Pascagoula, Mississippi at Northrop Grumman’s yard on a submersible ship, the Eagle.

20 Apr 2009

STX Europe to Build Three Icebreakers

STX Europe has, through its wholly owned subsidiary STX Norway Offshore AS, signed contracts to build three icebreaker tugs for JSC Circle Marine Invest. The subsidiary company, Caspian Offshore Construction in Kazakhstan will operate the vessels in the Kashagan field of the northern Caspian Sea. The vessels will be delivered in 2010 and 2011, and the total value of the three contracts amounts to approximately $111.5m. The vessels are designed by the STX Europe subsidiary Aker Arctic, and have a length of 213 ft and a beam of 53.8 ft. The vessels will have the Ice class notification 1A* Super, according to the Finnish-Swedish Ice classification rules. Further, the vessels will be equipped and designed for other operations like fire fighting, rescue operation and towing in shallow waters.