Support The Moscow Times!

Accident at Giant Kazakh Oil Field Halts Production

ASTANA — An accident has halted production at Kazakhstan's giant Kashagan offshore oil field two weeks after its launch, but this will not delay the start of commercial output in October, the Kazakh oil and gas minister said.

It took nearly 13 years and about $50 billion before the first oil was produced Sept. 11 at the field in the Caspian Sea. Kazakhstan expects it to produce about 8 million tons of crude in 2014 and eventually reach 1.5 million barrels per day.

The multinational consortium developing Kashagan needs to launch commercial output by an October deadline or faces fines under a production-sharing agreement with Kazakhstan.

"Production was stopped yesterday" due to a gas leak, Minister Uzakbai Karabalin said Thursday. "We believe it will take three or four days to fix it."

… we have a small favor to ask.

As you may have heard, The Moscow Times, an independent news source for over 30 years, has been unjustly branded as a "foreign agent" by the Russian government. This blatant attempt to silence our voice is a direct assault on the integrity of journalism and the values we hold dear.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. Our commitment to providing accurate and unbiased reporting on Russia remains unshaken. But we need your help to continue our critical mission.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just 2. It's quick to set up, and you can be confident that you're making a significant impact every month by supporting open, independent journalism. Thank you.

Continue

Read more