North Caspian Operating Company Introduces Sweet Gas into Offshore Facilities

The North Caspian Operating Company BV (NCOC) has announced the introduction of sweet gas into the offshore facilities on the artificial D Island and the lighting of the flare on July 14, a further major milestone in the startup of the Kashagan oil field, located 80 km southeast of Atyrau, Kazakhstan. This achievement brings the project a step closer to the start of production later this year and follows the completion on June 30 of the project facilities required for initial production.

Employing sulfur-free gas (sweet gas), followed by the pressurization of the offshore installations, and completing the dynamic testing are critical steps before gas and fluids from the production wells are entered into the system. Onshore, at the Bolashak processing facilities, this process was initiated several weeks ago and progressed according to plan.

Given the size and complexity of the project, the Consortium has to follow a long sequence of sophisticated processes to assure that each unit operates safely according to design specifications. During this complex process, safety remains the priority.

At the end of the sequential startup process, the integrated system will receive the first oil and gas from some 4,200 meters below the seabed. Over the coming months, production will be progressively ramped up to the design capacity from 180,000 b/d in the first stage to 370,000 b/d in the second stage.