Kazakhstan’s largest oilfield, the Chevron-led Tengiz project on the northeastern shores of the Caspian Sea, has recovered to about 60% of its normal output after being shut for much of January due to fires at its power facilities.
Two industry sources told Reuters on Monday that the field, which accounts for about 40% of Kazakhstan’s total oil production, is now steadily ramping up operations and is expected to return to full capacity by February 23.
The recovery has lifted Kazakhstan’s total oil and gas condensate production to about 1.6 million barrels per day between February 1 and 8, up sharply from an average of 1.27 million bpd recorded in January.
On February 8 alone, Tengiz produced around 70,000 metric tonnes, or roughly 550,000 barrels of oil, the sources said, reflecting a strong rebound after the disruption caused by the January 18 incident.
At peak levels, the giant field is capable of producing up to 120,000 tonnes, or about 950,000 barrels per day, a target that operators are aiming to reach later this month.
The Tengizchevroil (TCO) consortium, led by U.S. oil major Chevron, operates the field, while Kazakhstan’s authorities are still investigating the cause of the fires that forced the temporary shutdown.
The production outage significantly reduced Kazakhstan’s oil exports, particularly through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), the country’s main export route that runs through Russia to the Black Sea.
Industry sources said CPC exports in February could fall to around 1.1 million barrels per day, down from an initial plan of about 1.7 million bpd, due to the earlier output losses at Tengiz.
In January, CPC Blend crude loadings dropped to just 880,000 bpd, nearly half of the volumes originally scheduled, highlighting the scale of the disruption to supply.
With Tengiz now steadily returning to normal operations, Kazakhstan is expected to stabilise its oil exports in the coming weeks, easing supply pressures on one of the world’s key crude-producing regions.