Due to the Caspian Sea Shallowing KazMunayGas and LUKOIL Will Build a Canal
A “one-time” passage is necessary for the development of the Kalamkas-Sea and Khazar hydrocarbon fields.
KazMunayGas and LUKOIL will build a canal in the Caspian Sea to develop the Kalamkas-Sea and Khazar fields. This will have to be done due to the drop in the Caspian Sea level. Thus, the shallowing of the sea in the Ural Saddle area prevents the passage of ships. This was reported by Interfax.
For the development of the shelf, ships are needed to deliver equipment, fragments of production platforms, personnel, fuel, chemical reagents, food products, etc. It is also necessary to remove waste water and waste to coastal bases.
Therefore, it is planned to develop a project for the construction of a marine shipping canal through the Ural Saddle for the development of the fields. After the delivery of the stationary production platforms, the canal will no longer be used.
The main route of the canal is located north of the Caspian Itbalyty seal reserve and is 75.1 km long. It is planned to remove about 24.35 million square meters of soil. The alternative route, 91.411 km long, runs along the Gurevsky fairway. In this case, it will be necessary to remove over 34.3 million square meters of soil.
However, the Gurevsky fairway is used by ships to pass from the Middle Caspian to the North. The construction of the canal will limit this navigation route, the initiators of the construction explain. The presence of bottom soil dumps along the canal sharply increases the likelihood of ships maneuvering before the canal is built running aground.
Dredging is planned to be carried out in the navigation seasons of 2026-2029 (from April to November).
