Baku, Azerbaijan, May 20
By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:
The giant Kashagan oil field in Kazakhstan's sector of the Caspian Sea restarted the oil production on May 19, 2019 after the scheduled maintenance was completed, Trend report citing S&P Global Platts.
Last year Kashagan became the second largest source of CPC Blend crude, overtaking Karachaganak.
CPC Blend is a light grade produced in western Kazakhstan with a specific gravity of around 44-45 API and a sulfur content of 0.5 percent-0.6 percent. The grade is exported through the 1,580 km CPC pipeline to an export terminal near Novorossiysk on Russia's Black Sea coast.
CPC Blend exports in May will likely start recovering after April volumes were the lowest for the grade since October 2016 due to the maintenance at Kashagan.
The Kashagan oil field was producing at around 340,000 barrels a day prior to its 45-day maintenance in mid-April.
The maintenance was the first since Kashagan was launched in late 2016 after numerous delays, technical issues and massive overruns.
Production at the field will be gradually increased to 370,000 barrels a day, the Inpex official said on May 14, without giving a timeline.
Kazakhstan's daily crude and condensate production fell by 270,000 barrels a day (14.8 percent month on month) to 1.56 million barrels a day in April due to the maintenance at Kashagan. This helped the country comply with its commitment to cut production by 40,000 barrels a day from its November 2018 level of 1.9 million barrels a day under the latest OPEC/non-OPEC crude production agreement.
Kanat Bozumbayev, The Energy Minister of Kazakhstan stated earlier this year that average production over the first six months of 2019 would be in line with Kazakhstan's commitment to reduce output to 1.86 million barrels a day, forecasting that lower output in March, April and May would compensate for higher output in January, February and June.
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