Resumption of production at Kashagan may be delayed indefinitely should cracks be found in the pipes in the sea, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Oil and Gas Uzakbai Karabalin told reporters on 7 April.
“There are concerns about possible micro cracks in the submerged part of the pipeline. If cracks are found on the land pipeline, they can be fixed this year. If cracks are found in the submerged pipe, we will have to wait for the navigation and to re-lay the pipes. It will mean much longer time,” Karabalin said.
According to him, any inspection for micro cracks in the submerged pipes can only be carried out after the ice is off from the Caspian Sea, that is no sooner than May.
“As soon as the sea is free of ice, ultrasound tests will be carried out to search for possible risk points. Then that area will be opened up and tested manually. The tests should be finished at the end of May, and then it will be clear whether there are indeed any cracks,” the minister explained.
The minister reminded the audience that Kashagan was a difficult field with high reservoir pressure.
“Because of the specificity of the oil production project at the Kashagan field, even the participation in it of the industry leaders does not provide a panacea from the wide spectrum of difficulties. That is why the difficulties that have been identified should be examined thoroughly for their minimization in the future. Haste would be a mistake here,” the minister stressed.
He mentioned that the presence of oil at Kashagan was a confirmed fact, and that, on the whole, the large-scale complex was functioning.
He talked about a close investigation into the reasons of the leaks on both the gas pipeline and the oil pipeline that are laid between the island where the oil is produced and the onshore processing facility Bolashak. According to him, to-date, over 2,000 welding seams on the gas pipeline have been inspected and in-line and ultrasound inspections have been completed on over 6,000 metres of the pipelines. Currently, the data is being processed in the specialised laboratories.
Kashagan had started production on 11 September 2013, but the operations had to be stopped on 24 September due to a gas leak in the onshore section of the gas pipeline running from D Island to the onshore processing facility Bolashak. The Department of Emergency Situations and the relevant authorities were immediately informed in accordance with the regulations. The access to the line was secured and the respective joint replaced.
Production was resumed, but had to be stopped again on October 9th after a detection of a gas leak. Following repair of the affected joint, pressure tests were performed in a fully controlled environment revealing some other potential gas leaks. A thorough investigation was launched at that time.