How Do You Follow An Act Like Kashagan?

Originally appeared in OTC .07 Show Daily newsletter, May 2, 2007.

Led by the likes of Kashagan and Tengiz, Kazakhstan is ramping up to develop hydrocarbon resources believed to exceed 30 billion barrels of oil and 70tcf of gas.

Bracewell & Giuliani’s Greg Vojack who has lived in the country since 1994, examines the recent history and future prospects of the Caspian’s Kazakh sector. The world’s largest oil discovery in the past decade was made on the turn of the millennium in the northern portion of the Caspian Sea, in shallow offshore waters: Kashagan, where original oil-in-place is reported to stand at 38 billion barrels. Reserves, based on pressure maintenance through gas injection, are estimated to be 13 billion barrels of light crude oil of 42-45°API. The field covers an area of 47 miles by 22 miles located about 50 miles south of the Kazakhstan city of Atyrau.