Kazakhstan says special commission investigating Tengiz oilfield incident

MOSCOW, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan's energy ministry said on Thursday that a special commission was investigating the causes of a January 18 incident which forced the shutdown of the vast Tengiz oil field.

Oil production at the Tengiz oil field, one of the world's largest, was halted after a fire at a power unit. It is unclear what caused the fire. Global oil prices rose on Wednesday, bolstered by the field's shutdown. O/R

TENGIZ PRODUCTION HALTED FOR UP TO 10 DAYS

Reuters reported on Tuesday that production at the field, the world's deepest producing giant oil field and the largest single-trap producing reservoir, could be halted for another 7-10 days.

"The commission is currently conducting a detailed technical analysis of the causes of the incident," the energy ministry said, and will "clarify all the circumstances of the technological violation that occurred on January 18."

Production, which reached 0.9 million barrels per day capacity last year, was halted, it said, to protect personnel and equipment.

Tengizchevroil (TCO), in which Chevron CVX.N has a 50% stake and operates Tengiz and Korolev fields, issued a force majeure on CPC Blend supplies after the fire and subsequent power outage, the sources told Reuters.

TCO's other shareholders are Kazakhstan's state-owned KazMunayGas KMGZ.KZ with a 20% stake, ExxonMobil XOM.N with 25% and Russia's Lukoil LKOH.MM with 5%.

Tengiz produced around 606,000 bpd in 2024, while Chevron embarked on the $48 billion field expansion last year.

The suspension of oil production at Kazakhstan's largest oilfield further complicates output for the producer, which has already faced export bottlenecks and drone attacks on energy infrastructure and vessels.