Lukoil disappointed in Kazakhstan oil fields

Lukoil might decide to close two projects in Kazakhstan sector of the Caspian Sea by the end of the financial year, RBK daily writes. As per the company, the reason behind the possible abandoning of the projects is lack of commercial oil reserves. The company is referring to Tub-Karagan and Atashskaya (central part of the Kazakhstan part of the Caspian shelf) oil and condensed gas fields. When in 2004 Lukoil was entering these projects, their reserves were estimated at 150 million and 130 million tons of oil respectively. However, the first well drilled in 2005 turned out to be dry. The following attempts to discover significant oil reserves did not yield any good results, the company’s representatives complain. As per the head of investment analysis department of Univer Managing Company Dmitry Aleksandrov, leaving Kazakhstan projects which will not create any serious problems to Lukoil in short term, may have long-term consequences. “More and more dry wells are killing the prospects. This raises the issue of re-evaluation of oil and gas content in the region. Meanwhile Kazakhstan sector of the Caspian Sea remains a key sector for Lukoil. Many projects are made for it, including CPC (Caspian Pipeline Consortium),” the expert said. In May Russia’s Prime-Minister Vladimir Putin talked about another sector of Kazakhstan Caspian shelf, where the oil capacity did not meet expectations – Central structure (in the Northern part of the Caspian shelf) located at the territory of Kazakhstan and Russia. Putin noted that there was no oil discovered on the Kazakhstan part of the field, while there is oil on the Russian part.