Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

Kazakhstan's oil production will increase by 50,000 barrels per day (bpd) and reach 1.7 million bpd in 2014, OPEC's July oil market report said.

According to the report, the projected growth is fueled mainly by the startup of the Kashagan project.

"The first phase of this project, with a peak output of 0.35 million bpd, is expected to add new significant volumes in the second quarter of 2014," it said.

According to the report, production from other fields is expected to remain relatively steady, with only minor declines.

The risk posed to the outlook for Kazakhstan's oil supply is high, on the possibility of further delays and technical issues, OPEC believes.

According to the oil cartel's forecasts, in the first and second quarters of 2014 Kazakhstan's oil output will amount to 1.65 million bpd, while in the third quarter - to 1.71 million bpd, and in the fourth quarter it will be 1.79 million bpd.

According to OPEC's estimates, Kazakhstan's oil production amounted to 1.68 million bpd in Q1 2013 and to 1.6 million bpd in Q2.

In Q3 of this year OPEC expects the country's oil production at 1.64 million bpd, and in Q4 - at 1.67 million bpd.

According to BP, Kazakhstan's proven oil reserves stood at 30 billion barrels as of early 2013. The Central Asian state's oil production amounted to 1.728 million barrels per day in 2012, which is 1.6 percent below 2011.

Kazakhstan's largest hydrocarbon fields are Kashagan, Tengiz and Karachaganak.

Recoverable oil reserves of Kashagan field are estimated at 11 billion barrels, whereas total geological raw material reserves stand at 35 billion barrels. It is believed to be the largest oil field in the world after Prudo Bay in Alaska. Besides, natural gas reserves are estimated at over 1 trillion cubic meters.

The commencement of commercial production at Kashagan is expected by mid-2013. The first phase of the project envisions the volume of production at around 370,000 barrels of oil per day with a possible increase to 450,000 barrels. The second phase envisages increasing production to 375,000 bpd within at least three years.

The Tengiz oil field was discovered in 1979 and is one of the deepest and largest oil fields in the world. Reserves of the deposit are estimated at 750 million to 1.1 billion tons (6-9 billion barrels) of recoverable oil.

Karachaganak is one of the world's largest fields. Its oil reserves amount to 1.2 billion tons, while those of natural gas - 1.35 trillion cubic meters. 49 percent of Kazakhstan's gas production and 18 percent of oil production comes from this field.