News
Karachaganak Petroleum Operating (KPO)
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 – ENI (29.25 per cent), Royal Dutch Shell plc (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.
As part of the Oil System Upgrade at KPC, KPO were looking to implement accurate and repeatable interface level measurement on both the oil and water sides of the Three Phase Separators, in some cases replacing the failed radar level gauges. ABLE were approached for a solution in this regard and supplied their renowned Drexelbrook Universal IV Transmitters. The specification called for incolnel 625 to meet the NACE MR0175 requirement for wetted parts. Measurement ranges of up to 4m and design pressures up to 61 bar were addressed.
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 over $22 billion in the operations and have applied industry leading hydrocarbon technology to one of the world’s most complex reservoirs. In 2016 KPO produced 139.7 million barrels of oil equivalent of stabilised and unstabilised liquid hydrocarbons, gas and fuel gas. In addition, 8.04 billion cubic meters of sour dry gas were re-injected, a volume equivalent to approximately 46% of the total volume of produced gas. While delivering on its operation commitments, KPO as a responsible corporate citizen works towards generating maximum social and economic benefits from the Karachaganak field for the local communities and the Republic of Kazakhstan as a whole.