Kazakhstan’s Tengiz oilfield will remain offline for at least another seven to ten days following the fire-related shutdown announced earlier this week, extending an outage at one of the world’s most important non-OPEC crude producers, Reuters reported.
Production at Tengiz was halted after fires broke out at a power facility supplying the field, forcing operators to shut in output as a precaution. At the time, no timeline was provided for a restart, raising concerns about a potentially prolonged disruption at a field that produces roughly 700,000 barrels per day at full capacity.
According to Reuters, sources familiar with the situation now say the field is expected to stay shut for another seven to ten days as repairs to the damaged power infrastructure continue. While the fire did not damage core production assets, restoring stable electricity supply has taken longer than initially anticipated, pushing any restart into late January.
Tengiz is operated by Tengizchevroil and accounts for about one-third of Kazakhstan’s total oil output. The field feeds directly into the Caspian Pipeline Consortium export system, which carries crude to the Black Sea and onward to global markets, making any disruption closely watched by traders.
Output is expected to return gradually once power is fully restored, rather than resuming at full capacity immediately. Market participants cited by the news agency said the revised timeline reduces the risk of a deeper supply shock but still removes significant volumes from the market in the near term.
The field is majority owned by Chevron, alongside Exxon Mobil, KazMunayGas, and Lukoil. Tengiz has been the focus of more than $45 billion in expansion and modernization investment, underscoring its central role in Kazakhstan’s oil sector and global supply balances.
Reuters said traders now expect the outage to have a limited impact on monthly exports, provided no further technical issues emerge during the restart phase.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
More Top Reads From Oilprice.com
