The Karachaganak field, discovered in 1979, is one of the world’s largest gas and condensate fields. Located in north-west Kazakhstan and covering an area of over 280 square kilometres, it holds estimated hydrocarbons initially in place (HIIP) of 13.6 billion barrels of liquids and 59.4 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas, with estimated gross reserves of over 2.4 billion barrels of condensate and 16 tcf of gas.

The Karachaganak Venture brings expertise and knowledge from five oil & gas companies — ENI SpA (29.25%), Shell plc (29.25%), Chevron (18%), Lukoil (13.5%) and KazMunaiGas (10%). Together they share their experience and expertise with the Republic in looking at both domestic and export options for maximising the value of these resources.

In 1997, Venture partners set out with the former State Oil & Gas Authority to develop the vast reserves of Karachaganak. They signed a Final Production Sharing Agreement (FPSA) which will see the partnership operate Karachaganak until 2038. Since signing this agreement they have invested over $31.3 billion in the operations and have applied industry leading hydrocarbon technology to one of the world’s most complex reservoirs.

In 2023, hydrocarbon production in Karachaganak reached 142.698 mln. barrels of oil equivalent. 12,650 billion cubic metres of gas, which is approximately 56.5% of the total gas produced, were re-injected to maintain reservoir pressure.

While delivering on its operation commitments, KPO as a responsible corporate citizen works towards generating maximum social and economic benefits from the Karachaganak field for the local communities and the Republic of Kazakhstan as a whole.

Hydrocarbon production and processing occurs at three major interconnected units: Karachaganak Processing Complex (KPC), Unit 2 and Unit 3. Approximately 2,000 kilometres of pipelines make up the infield system linking the major facilities and allowing efficient flows of production from the wells and among the units. Amongst the facilities, there is an Early Oil Production Satellite (EOPS) and Eco Centre. An overall view of the facilities is graphically presented on the Figure 3.

The transportation system operated by KPO includes the main export route for stabilised liquid hydrocarbons – Karachaganak – Atyrau Transportation System (KATS) with two pumping stations: one at KPC and the other at Bolshoi Chagan, and a receiving and storage facility in KPO Terminal in Atyrau. The other export route is the Karachaganak – Orenburg Transportation System (KOTS), which is used by KPO for transporting gas to Orenburg Gas Plant in the Russian Federation.

As of end 2022, 117 producing and 20 re-injection wells were online at Karachaganak, from a total well stock of 471 wells. In 2022, KPO well stock was increased by three new wells compared to the previous year: 471 wells in 2022 and 468 wells in 2021. According to the drilling plan for 2022, it was planned to drill four wells. In fact, three wells were drilled, one well was started drilling in 2021 and completed in 2022. Another two wells were started to be drilled in 2022 and completed in 2023.

KeyFacts Energy: Projects Database