Kazakhstan to increase gas production in 2013
By Aynur Jafarova
Kazakhstan intends to produce 40.5 billion cubic meters of gas in 2013, Kazakh Minister of Oil and Gas Sauat Mynbayev said at the government hour in the Majilis (lower chamber of the Kazakh parliament).
"It is planned to increase tank gas production up to 22.1 billion cubic meters," he noted.
Mynbayev added that according to the agreement on gas deliveries between Gazprom, Uzbekneftegaz and KazMunaiGas, all gas imports "swap" with the exports from the Karachaganak field at the same price and in equal volumes.
Karachaganak is one of the world's largest fields. Its oil reserves amount to 1.2 billion tons, while natural gas resrves reach 1.35 trillion cubic meters. Fourty-nine percent of Kazakhstan's gas production and 18 percent of oil production comes from this field. BG Group has 29.25 percent in the project, while Eni holds 29.25 percent, Chevron -18 percent, Lukoil -13.5 percent and Kazakhstan -10 percent.
"The gas export volume in the country given these swap transactions totaled 11.2 billion cubic meters (an increase of 1.8 percent by 2011)," Mynbayev said. "Internal consumption of tank gas in 2012 increased by 2.9 percent and amounted to 10.5 billion cubic meters."
He stressed that 13.5 billion Tenge (151.09 Tenge = $ 1) were allocated from the national budget in 2012 to develop the gas transportation system, construction of 43 projects were conducted as well as gas pipelines with a total length of about 600 kilometers were constructed.
As a result, there was an opportunity to provide 60 settlements in eight Kazakh regions with gas.
It was earlier reported that gas production increased in 2012 by 1.5 percent compared to 2011 to 40.1 billion cubic meters.
Mynbayev said that oil and gas production declined in Kazakhstan in 2012.
"According to 2012 results, the production of oil and gas condensate decreased as compared to 2011. This is due to natural processes, technical and geological factors on several oil and gas fields as well as unplanned maintenance work undertaken in several facilities," Mynbaev said.
Kazakh gas supplies to Russia to fall
Mynbayev underlined that Karachaganak Petroleum Operating Company (KPO) is holding discussions with Russian Orenburg Gas Processing Plant and Gazprom over decreasing the supply of gas condensate due to the low price offered by Russia.
Furthermore, he said that decrease in supply of the Karachaganak gas condensate to Orenburg Plant in 2012 is connected with the input of additional processing capacities at the KPO.
According to Mynbayev, KPO supplies 800,000 tones of condensate to Orenburg Plant per year.
Earlier in March Mynbayev said that if Kazakhstan does not reach an agreement with Russia over the price of gas from the Karachaganak field, this gas might be diverted to China.
"Some seven billion tons of gas from the Karachaganak field are transferred to the Orenburg gas processing plant. We get back 4.5 billion tons of gas through swap operations, including for Kostanai, south and West Kazakhstan Province. We still have some questions concerning the price for the remaining 2.5 billion cubic meters of gas. If we don't reach an agreement over this price starting 2015, it will be redirected to the south and possibly to China upon commissioning of the Beineu-Bozoi-Shymkent pipeline," Mynbayev said.
Mynbayev also stressed that Kazakhstan intends to limit the import of Russian oil products to its domestic markets in 2013.
"We consider that it is possible to apply limit to the import of oil products from Russian Federation in 2013," Mynbayed added.
He underlined that currently there is an oversupply of oil products in Kazakh markets.