KazMunayGas Will Drill 3 Exploration Wells in 2024
The Chairman of the Board of KazMunayGas (KMG) M. Mirzagaliev took part in an international scientific and practical conference dedicated to the oil and gas future of the Mangystau region, where he spoke about the prospects for the development of geological exploration and the company’s plans in this area. This was reported by the KMG press service.
Theses by M. Mirzagaliev:
- KMG pays special attention to the strategic goal of developing the resource base;
- in order to accelerate the growth of reserves, we have formed a diversified portfolio of projects for implementation as part of exploration and additional exploration of hydrocarbons;
- first of all, among the immediate plans for existing exploration projects, offshore drilling of an exploratory well in the Abay block with a depth of 2.5 thousand meters should be noted.
The head of KMG noted that the company also plans to begin drilling 2 more deep wells in 2024:
- based on the results of our regional studies, we estimate the undiscovered hydrocarbon potential at 18 billion toe, where the main prospects are associated with deeper and more technically complex projects;
- as part of the study of deep-lying sediments, this year KMG plans to begin drilling 2 deep wells of 5.5 km each at the Karaton-subsalt and Turgai-Paleozoic projects in the Atyrau and Kyzylorda regions.
Project Karaton Podsalevoy
The Karaton Podsolevoy subsoil site is located in the Atyrau and Mangistau regions near the operating fields of Embamunaigas (a subsidiary of KGM). A subsalt deposit is a deposit beneath layers of salt and sand. Pre-salt oil is classified as hard-to-recover reserves, and seismic exploration work is complicated. The resources of pre-salt deposits are often underestimated. In June 2023, KGM received a contract for the exploration and production of hydrocarbons at the Karaton Podsolevaya subsoil site. In September 2023, the private company Karaton Operating Ltd was registered on the territory of the Astana International Financial Center for the implementation of the project. In November 2023, KMG transferred the subsoil use right to Karaton Operating Ltd.
Turgai-Paleozoic
- The area of the subsoil plot is 5,679.95 km2;
- Projected recoverable reserves – 23.1 million tons;
- The amount of investment is 581 billion tenge (more than 1.3 billion US dollars).
- It is planned to build a prospecting well PZ-1 with a depth of 5500 m. According to KGM, wells with similar depths have not been drilled in this region before.
GES projects
In 2023, KMG initiated a large-scale seismic exploration project in new territories – geological exploration of subsoil (GES) of 5 areas in the Aktobe, West Kazakhstan and Mangistau regions. As part of the work on the GES projects, field seismic exploration work was completed in 2023 in the Zharkyn and Northern Ozen areas. It is noted that work is currently underway to process and interpret the data. In addition, 2D seismic exploration is planned for the Bolashak subsoil area in 2024.
The head of KMG also focused on some projects aimed at maintaining the volume of hydrocarbon production in the Mangistau region, including the rehabilitation project for the Uzen and Karamandybas fields.
It is also reported that KMG, together with LUKOIL, has begun detailed design for the development of the Kalamkas-Sea-Khazar offshore project, where the first oil production is planned for 2029. The implementation of the project can significantly affect the performance of the oil and gas industry in the Mangistau region.
International scientific and practical conference Oil and gas future of Mangistau
- organized by the Kazakh Society of Oil Geologists;
- is a significant industry event that provides an open platform for discussion of geology and oil and gas field development with the participation of leading experts.
