Operator of Kazakh Kashagan to hold open round-table on Marine Access Channels Project

Nur-Sultan, April 13 - Neftegaz.RU. North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC) which operates Kazakhstan's Kashagan field is planning to conduct an open round-table in respect of the Marine Access Channels Project for the purpose of discussing the issues of interest with stakeholders, Trend reported citing the NCOC.

On April 7, NCOC informed the public about Marine access channels project, which became quite controversial with some experts criticizing these plans.
NCOC said that the project was developed to avoid consequences due to the falling of the Caspian Sea level followed by the sea's shallowing in the area of Kashagan offshore facilities have limited the use of sea vessels.

It is posing a threat towards the safe operation of offshore production facilities that may lead to the complete shutdown of one of the largest fields in Kazakhstan.
The project impact area will total nearly 29 sq.km, which is as low as 0.036% of the total North Caspian area.
The project will deploy the best available technologies.

The project was developed in accordance with the construction regulations and the Environmental Code of Kazakhstan.
Baseline environmental studies were carried out on the entire area of planned work in 2019-2020.

The North Caspian Project is the 1st major offshore oil & gas development in Kazakhstan.
It covers 3 fields:

• Kashagan
• Kairan
• Aktoty

The Kashagan field is one of the 3 largest oil fields located in the northern part of the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea.
Its recoverable reserves reach approximately 9-13 billion barrels (1-2 billion tons) of oil.
NCOC has reached a record-breaking volume of oil extraction at the field (390,000-400,000 barrels a day) in 2019.

Author: Nargiz Sadkhova