Operational disruption occurs at Tengiz oilfield facility; production being restored - TCO

ASTANA. May 29 (Interfax) - An operational disruption occurred on Thursday at a facility at Kazakhstan's largest oilfield, Tengiz, and production capacity is currently being restored, the press service of Tengizchevroil (TCO), the oilfield's operator, told Interfax.

"On May 28, 2026, Tengizchevroil experienced a minor operational disruption at one of its facilities. Production at TCO is currently in the restoration phase," TCO said in a response to Interfax's inquiry.

TCO added that ensuring safe and reliable operations is a priority. TCO declined to comment on further details regarding the incident.

As previously reported, a transformer fire occurred at the Tengiz oilfield on January 18, 2026. Tengizchevroil suspended production the following day at the Tengiz and Korolevskoye oilfields owing to problems with the power distribution systems. Production resumed at the Korolevskoye oilfield on January 26 and at Tengiz on January 31. Kazakh Energy Minister Erlan Akkenzhenov on March 11 announced the full restoration of production at Tengiz following the incident.

The incident affected production at the oilfield in the first quarter of 2026, with output dropping 37.5% year-on-year to 5.7 million tonnes.

Tengiz has oil reserves totaling 3.1 billion tonnes. Tengizchevroil shareholders include Chevron Corp. (50%), ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Ventures Inc. (25%), Kazakhstan through KazMunayGas (20%), and Lukoil (5%).