Azerbaijan, Baku, March 9 / Trend A. Badalova /
Kazakhstan's oil production will increase by 20,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 1.63 million bpd in 2012, OPEC's March oil market report published on Friday says.
According to the report, these figures represent a minor downward revision of 15,000 bpd from last month.
The revision has come on the back of Uzen field output coming below expectations on the back of bad weather during the first two months of 2012, as per preliminary data, the report says. The field's supply is expected to increase by 15 percent in 2012 from the previous year, when output was curtailed due to strike action and power outages."
OPEC expects the Tengiz project to add new volumes in 2012 and support Kazakhstan's production.
According to OPEC's forecasts, in 2012, the highest level of oil production in the country will be observed in the first and fourth quarters - at 1.64 million bpd. In the second and third quarters oil production will amount to 1.61 million bpd.
According to BP, Kazakhstan's proven oil reserves were 39.8 billion barrels in early 2011.
The country's oil production, according to BP, amounted to 1.757 million barrels per day in 2010, which is 4.4 percent more than the volume in 2009.
In Kazakhstan there are fields such as Tengiz and Karachaganag. The Tengiz Field in western Kazakhstan was opened in 1979. It is one of the deepest and largest oil fields in the world. In April 1993, Tengizchevroil was created after the Kazakh government and Chevron signed the agreement. At present, its partners are: Chevron -- 50 percent, KMG -- 20 percent, ExxonMobil -- 25 percent and LukArko -- 5 percent.
The Karachanag Field in northwestern Kazakhstan was opened in 1979. It is one of the largest gas condensate deposits in the world. Its estimated initial reserves of hydrocarbons hit 9 billion barrels of condensate and 1.37 trillion cubic meters of gas.