Azerbaijan, Baku, April 8 / Trend, A. Akhundov /
Kazakhstan does not exclude the possibility of transporting oil through Azerbaijan's export pipelines. This was said by the First Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Bakytzhan Sagintayev to Trend on Monday.
"This issue has been a subject of discussions for a long time. The negotiations are underway. We are waiting the start of oil production in the Kashagan offshore field. Then the volumes will increase dramatically, and following that, we will be able to make a decision. We are currently considering all directions. If the capacity of existing pipelines is not enough, Kazakhstan will have to push its reserves thorough new directions. Now it all depends on how we will increase production. The route through Azerbaijan has never been ignored, and it is also among the likely directions," Sagintayev said.
According to him, the amount of oil transported by railway also depends on the expected production growth.
"The most important thing now is to determine which way the oil will go. If the existing volumes of transportation through the railway network in Azerbaijan are enough, we will keep them," Sagintayev said.
The start of oil production at the Kashagan field was postponed from March to June 2013.
Due to start of the development of the Kashagan field, oil production is projected to grow from 82 million tons in 2013 to 102 million tons in 2017.
Kazakh Kashagan field took first place in the global ranking of the most expensive energy projects according to CNN Money: $ 116 billion have already been invested in it.
Kashagan is one of the largest energy projects over the last 40 years.
The development of the Kashagan field is undertaken under extremely complex geological conditions: the shelf area, a large depth and high reservoir pressure greatly complicate its exploration.
The field is located in the northern part of the Caspian region, making solution of logistics related problems difficult.
Transpiration of oil requires a chain of interconnected railway lines, pipelines and sea routes.
Severe weather conditions also pose a serious problem.
Within six months, the Caspian Sea is covered with ice, thus, companies have to construct artificial islands for successful production of oil and gas in the region.
The project's operator is NCOS. The consortium consists of KazMunaiGas, Eni, ExxonMobil, Shell, Total with 16.81 percent stakes each, ConocoPhillips - 8.4 percent and INPEX - 7.5 percent.