Ukrainian Drone Strike Disrupts Kazakhstan's Oil Production

Kazakhstan has been forced to sharply reduce production at its key Karachaganak oil and gas field after a Ukrainian drone strike hit a gas processing plant in Russia's Orenburg region. Raw gas from the Kazakh field is routinely sent there for processing.

Kazakh Energy Minister Erlan Akkenzhenov confirmed on Friday that the country had reduced gas deliveries to the facility but said domestic gas supplies remain secure.

Because gas processing and oil condensate production at Karachaganak are technologically linked, the disruption also cut condensate output by about a quarter.

On Wednesday, Kyiv said it had struck a gas processing plant and an associated energy complex in Orenburg, about 1,700 kilometers (1,060 miles) east of the Ukrainian border. Kazakhstan has a processing agreement for the facility that runs through 2038.

The Karachaganak field is jointly owned by Chevron, Shell, Italy's Eni, Russia's Lukoil and Kazakhstan's KazMunayGas. Oil from the field is exported mainly through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) to the Black Sea and via the Druzhba pipeline to Germany.

Akkenzhenov also denied reports that Russia had formally asked Kazakhstan for assistance. However, industry sources say Moscow is quietly negotiating imports of 50,000 metric tons of Kazakh gasoline as refinery outages continue to disrupt domestic fuel supplies.

(reuters, Max)