Karachaganak Field Discovery

The Karachaganak field, discovered in 1979, is one of the world’s largest gas and condensate fields. Located in north-west Kazakhstan and covering an area of over 280 square kilometres, it holds estimated hydrocarbons initially in place (HIIP) of 9 billion barrels of condensate and 48 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas, with estimated gross reserves of over 2.4 billion barrels of condensate and 16 tcf of gas.

The Karachaganak Venture brings expertise and knowledge from five oil & gas companies – BG Group (29.25 per cent), ENI (29.25 per cent), Chevron (18 per cent), Lukoil (13.5 per cent) and KazMunaiGas (10 per cent). Together they share their experience and expertise with the Republic in looking at both domestic and export options for maximising the value of these resources.

In 1997, Venture partners set out with the former State Oil & Gas Authority to develop the vast reserves of Karachaganak.  They signed a Final Production Sharing Agreement (FPSA) which will see the partnership operate Karachaganak until 2038.  Since signing this agreement they have invested some $14 billion in the operations and have applied industry leading hydrocarbon technology to one of the world’s most complex reservoirs.

Today, Karachaganak is producing at record levels and is the largest gas producing field in Kazakhstan, accounting for some 45 per cent of the country’s total gas production and around 16 per cent of total liquids production. In 2012, the venture produced some 139.5 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Karachaganak Milestones