Kazakhstan's Energy Ministry confirms postponement of repairs at Kashagan field until 2027
ASTANA. June 8 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan has confirmed the postponement of maintenance work at the Kashagan field from June this year until next year, the country's Energy Ministry told Interfax.
"The maintenance work scheduled to begin on June 1, 2026, and last for 40 days has been postponed to next year for practical reasons," the Energy Ministry said in response to Interfax's inquiry.
The North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC) consortium, the project operator, said last week that maintenance work scheduled for summer 2026 has been postponed to 2027.
The NCOC and its shareholders decided to postpone repair work at the field until next year "in full consultation with the government", the company said.
Kazakh Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov previously said that the ministry was in talks with the shareholders of the Kashagan field to postpone the field's repair schedule.
Kazakhstan was unable to produce approximately 5 million tonnes of oil in January-April 2026 owing to restrictions on oil intake into the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) system and the accident at the Tengiz field earlier this year. Authorities have expressed hope that the lost oil production volumes in the first quarter would be recouped within the year.
The last repair at Kashagan was between October 7 and 28, 2024, with a new inlet gas separator commissioned as part of the repairs.
Kashagan is considered one of the world's largest oilfields discovered in recent decades. The field's recoverable reserves range from 9 billion to 13 billion barrels of oil. Commercial production began at Kashagan in autumn 2016.
The shareholders of the NCOC consortium are KMG Kashagan B.V. (16.877%), Shell (SPB: RDS.A) Kazakhstan Development B.V. (16.807%), Total EP Kazakhstan (16.807%), AgipCaspian Sea B.V. (16.807%), ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Inc. (16.807%), China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) Kazakhstan B.V. (8.333%), and Inpex NorthCaspian Sea Ltd. (7.563%).
