Kazakhstan Oil Ministry has nothing to say about suspension at Kashagan

The Kazakhstan Ministry of Oil and Gas declines to make any statements on suspension of production at Kashagan until the causes and those responsible are identified, Tengrinews reports. When asked to confirm that production of oil at the Kashagan field had been suspended, Minister of Oil and Gas Uzakbai Karabalin said: “We do not have the complete information yet. The results of the analysis have not been presented. As soon as we have the results we’ll be able to respond.” “We will make a statement once we learn the causes and know who is responsible,” the Oil Minister elaborated. Last week, one of the prominent American newspapers reported that production at Kashagan was not going to restart until next year. The production started in September 2013. It has been suspended several times due to technological issues at the oilfield and supporting infrastructure. Kashagan is expected to produce around 8 million tons of oil in 2014. “The oil field is huge and one of a kind. At the same time the oil field is very complicated. Being an oil worker myself, I can say that it is one of the most difficult oil fields to develop in the world,” said Karabalin earlier. According to Minister Karabalin, development of the oilfield is complicated by the shallow waters that freeze up in winter, and by a high sulfurated hydrogen content and high pressure in the layers. That's why Kashagan requires best engineering solutions. By Baubek Konyrov