(Bloomberg) – Kazakhstan’s giant Karachaganak oil and gas field cut crude production by more than a quarter after a drone attack forced the shutdown of a processing plant in Russia that handles its gas.
Karachaganak, one of Kazakhstan’s three largest hydrocarbon projects alongside Tengiz and Kashagan, accounts for about 10% of the country’s oil production. Because the field produces crude oil and natural gas together, it cannot significantly reduce gas output without also curtailing oil production.
As a result of the strike, Karachaganak is currently producing 25,000 tons of crude a day, down from 34,000 tons normally, Interfax reported, citing Kazakhstan Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov. That’s equivalent to just over 180,000 bpd, according to Bloomberg calculations.
The cuts follow Wednesday’s drone attack on the Orenburg gas-processing plant in Russia, about 170 kilometers (106 miles) from the Kazakh border. The facility processes raw fuel from Karachaganak before returning commercial-grade supply to Kazakhstan. The plant halted operations after the attack, Ukraine’s General Staff said, although Bloomberg could not independently verify the claim.
Russia is holding repair works at the Orenburg plant now, Interfax reported Akkenzhenov as saying. However, Kazakhstan has no information about when the facility will be able to resume processing gas from Karachaganak, according to the report.
Despite the output cuts at the giant field, Kazakhstan maintains its plan to pump 98 million tons of oil this year, according to Interfax.