Atyrau, 28 October. The board of directors of the national company QazaqGaz held an off-site meeting directly at a production site for the first time — next to the gas processing plant being built for gas from the Kashagan field, with a capacity of 1 billion m³ a year — and told contractors to keep to deadlines and safety rules and to hire more Kazakh specialists and suppliers, the Ak Zhaiyk newspaper reported.
The meeting took place on 27 October in Atyrau Region. Board members inspected the site and assessed progress on construction and installation, then met the general contractors to discuss schedules, industrial and environmental safety and the share of Kazakh companies in the project. “The construction of the gas processing plant at Kashagan is a strategic project of national scale under the special control of the Head of State and the Government of Kazakhstan. Commissioning the plant will not only increase the processing of raw gas but also expand the resource base of commercial gas for the domestic market,” the board said. A successful start-up, the company said, depends on cooperation with NCOC, the Kashagan operator, and on contractors bringing people and equipment to the site on time.
A gas processing plant is needed to clean and separate associated gas, which comes out of the reservoir together with oil. The new plant will turn it into commercial gas for the domestic market. From 1 billion m³ of raw gas it will produce about 727 million m³ of commercial gas.
Different documents give different start-up dates. In July, according to QazaqGaz, overall engineering, procurement and construction progress stood at about 60%, 97% of the main equipment had been delivered to the site and some 2,000 people were working there; QazaqGaz chairman Alibek Zhamauov told a government meeting on 7 July that construction and installation would be completed by the end of 2026. The Energy Ministry names 2027 as the commissioning date, while the project’s environmental impact assessment gives the fourth quarter of 2027. The plant is being built by GPC Investment LLP, in which QazaqGaz takes part.
On the same trip the board visited the construction site of the Eskene LPG liquefied petroleum gas terminal. Foundations are being laid and the main equipment installed there; the terminal is to receive, transship and fractionate liquefied gas from Kashagan. QazaqGaz is also promoting a second plant at Kashagan, with a capacity of 2.5 billion m³ of gas a year.
What it means: The national company is showing that its board keeps construction under personal control: the 1 billion m³ plant is meant to supply the domestic market with additional commercial gas. But an exact start-up date has still not been given, ranging from “the end of 2026” for installation to “the fourth quarter of 2027” for operation.
Who benefits: The domestic gas market stands to gain about 727 million m³ of commercial gas a year, which, according to QazaqGaz, will widen its resource base. Kazakh contractors and suppliers benefit too: the board explicitly demanded more active involvement of local companies and specialists.
Background: Kashagan is a large offshore oil field in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea, developed by the North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC) consortium. In October an international arbitration tribunal rejected $12 billion of Kazakhstan’s $20 billion in claims against Kashagan shareholders over disputed costs.
We have also reported that the GPC Investment plant for Kashagan gas is due to start at the end of 2027 and that arbitration rejected $12 billion of Kazakhstan’s $20 billion Kashagan claims.
