ASTANA, Kazakhstan, August 15. Kazakhstan's Ministry of Energy may reduce its oil production forecast for the current year due to an accident at the Mangystau Nuclear Power Plant (MNPP) and planned repair work at the fields, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Energy Almassadam Satkaliyev told journalists, Trend reports.
Oil production strategies have already been modified. By the end of the year, the initial goal was to produce about 90.5 million tons of oil. He added that this strategy needed to be reviewed because of the MNPP catastrophe and considerable planned and unscheduled maintenance at the fields.
Moreover, the reduction in daily oil production was also a result of restrictions on electricity supply. The oil production volume decreased by about 1.5–2 million tons. It is possible that by the end of the year, the forecast for oil production will be reduced even more significantly. Currently, oil production is planned to be about 89.4 million tons, but this figure may be further adjusted as repair work at the fields is in progress, the minister said.
The decision on the final forecast on oil production will be made taking into account the dynamics of events and the current situation at the fields, where repair work continues, Satkaliyev emphasized.