KazMunayGas Suspends Development of Caspian Fields with LUKOIL Due to Sanctions
The implementation of a project involving LUKOIL for the development of the Kalamkas-Sea and Khazar fields in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea has been suspended, Chairman of the Management Board of KazMunayGas, Askhat Khassenov, said during a video conference with analysts.
“Last year, we completed the design phase for the joint project Kalamkas-Sea and Khazar, but given the sanctions introduced, further implementation of the project has currently been suspended,” he said.
The fields are located in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea. The depth of productive horizons is 1.5–2 thousand metres below the seabed. Total recoverable reserves are estimated at 48.5 million tonnes of oil and 19 billion cubic metres of gas. Expected production is around 4 million tonnes per year (80 thousand barrels per day), with a production plateau of at least five years. First oil was expected at the end of 2029. According to preliminary estimates, investment was expected to amount to approximately $6.4 billion. The participants in the joint development project of the Kalamkas-Sea – Khazar – Auezov fields are JSC NC KazMunayGas (50%) and PJSC LUKOIL (50%). The final investment decision was planned for 2025.
LUKOIL has been operating in Kazakhstan since 1995 and holds stakes in major oil and gas projects, including Karachaganak (13.5% in the operator Karachaganak Petroleum Operating B.V.), Tengiz (5% in Tengizchevroil LLP), and Kumkol (50% in Turgai Petroleum JSC). The company also participates with Kazakhstan in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), where LUKOIL’s share is 12.5%. On October 15, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on LUKOIL, issuing a license for the wind-down of operations. At the same time, several international projects in Kazakhstan involving LUKOIL were immediately exempted from sanctions until October 14, 2027, including the CPC, Tengizchevroil, and Karachaganak projects.
