Kazakstan announced on September 20th that it will increase its crude oil exports to 740,000 b/d in 2001, a rise of 11 percent over 2000.
The increase, which is greater than the energy ministry had earlier expected, will be mostly due to a boost in output at the Tengiz and Karachaganak fields.
The Tengiz field accounts for about one-third of Kazakstan's crude production and has estimated reserves of between 6-9 billion barrels.
Chevron Corp. is a 50 percent stakeholder in Tengizchevroil (TCO), the joint venture operating the Tengiz field, with Exxon Mobil Corp.
holding a 25 percent stake, Kazakstan a 20 percent stake, and LUKArco holding the remaining 5 percent share. Output from the field is currently around 260,000 b/d, and Chevron estimates that the figure will rise to 370,000 b/d by 2004.
Chevron is also involved in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which is behind the construction of a $2.3 billion, 900-mile export pipeline linking the Tengiz field with the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossisk. The CPC project is due for completion in 2001. Estimated first-phase capacity for the line is 564,000 b/d, but it will not reach its full capacity of 1.34 million b/d until around 2015.
( oilnavigator )
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
