Oil extraction at the Kashagan Field in Kazakhstan may start at the end of the year at best after reconstruction of a 200-km pipeline. The national GDP will lose 0.5% this year, according to Kazakh Minister for Economy and Budget Planning Yerbolat Dosayev.
Oil extraction at Kashagan was carried out only on September 11-24, 2013. It was stopped due to signs of gas leakage. Extraction was resumed, only to be stopped on October 9 for the same reason. Specialists have found many micro cracks on the pipeline, requiring replacement of all parts of the pipeline.
Eduard Poletayev, an expert, told Vestnik Kavkaza that Kashagan was positioned as the largest field discovered in the past year. Kazakhstan, he says, is focusing the attention of foreign investors on the field and offers impressive benefits, such as a deal on split of products (investors get a payback for their funds and then start paying Kazakhstan). In the light of rising oil prices, the expert goes on, such terms seemed very attractive.
Poletayev explained that the local environment was the key factor slowing down the development of Kashagan: the frozen sea, shallow waters, continental climate, salty winds and ground. The analyst emphasized that the climate had become a major problem when foreign investors started work at the field.
In his opinion, the project will not be scrapped due to the billions of dollars already invested. He believes that it will be postponed, which will be a setback for Kazakh expectations.
Oil extraction at the Kashagan Field in Kazakhstan may start at the end of the year at best after reconstruction of a 200-km pipeline. The national GDP will lose 0.5% this year, according to Kazakh Minister for Economy and Budget Planning Yerbolat Dosayev.Oil extraction at Kashagan was carried out only on September 11-24, 2013. It was stopped due to signs of gas leakage. Extraction was resumed, only to be stopped on October 9 for the same reason. Specialists have found many micro cracks on the pipeline, requiring replacement of all parts of the pipeline.Eduard Poletayev, an expert, told Vestnik Kavkaza that Kashagan was positioned as the largest field discovered in the past year. Kazakhstan, he says, is focusing the attention of foreign investors on the field and offers impressive benefits, such as a deal on split of products (investors get a payback for their funds and then start paying Kazakhstan). In the light of rising oil prices, the expert goes on, such terms seemed very attractive.Poletayev explained that the local environment was the key factor slowing down the development of Kashagan: the frozen sea, shallow waters, continental climate, salty winds and ground. The analyst emphasized that the climate had become a major problem when foreign investors started work at the field.In his opinion, the project will not be scrapped due to the billions of dollars already invested. He believes that it will be postponed, which will be a setback for Kazakh expectation
