Kazakhstan's Tengiz field restored 20% of output capacity by February 1, sources say

MOSCOW, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Oil production at Kazakhstan's giant Tengiz field has recovered further in the past few days, reaching nearly 20% of its capacity on Sunday following a full outage in mid January, two sources familiar with operational data said.

Tengiz, which accounts for nearly 40% of Kazakhstan’s output, was shut on January 18 after a fire in electrical equipment, reducing the Central Asian nation's total oil supply at a time when exports were already constrained by disruptions on its main pipeline route.

Oil output at Tengiz rose to 23,000 metric tons (183,000 barrels) on Sunday from 14,900 tons (118,000 barrels) on Saturday, the sources said. This will mark some 20% of its full output capacity.

Production is expected to continue increasing and reach 54,000 tons (430,000 barrels) or some 45% of its full output by Wednesday, the sources said.

Tengizchevroil (TCO), the Chevron CVX.N-led operator, said it is gradually ramping up production as conditions allow, but does not comment on specific operational or commercial details.

OUTPUT FELL IN JANUARY

In January, Tengiz's average output fell by two-thirds from December to 234,000 barrels per day, according to data from the Situational and Analytical Centre of the Fuel and Energy Complex (SAC FEC).

The field produced 2.694 million tons in December, equivalent to 691,700 bpd by Reuters calculations.

Output at Tengiz hit a record 3.7 million tons (around 950,000 bpd) in August 2025, SAC FEC data shows.

MAINTENANCE CURBS OUTPUT

Kazakhstan’s total oil and condensate production fell to 1.27 million bpd in January, from 1.86 million bpd in December and 1.87 million bpd a year earlier, a source said, citing SAC FEC data.

The energy ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Two other major fields also saw declines in January. Production at the Kashagan oilfield was down 33% to 260,000 bpd, while oil output at Karachaganak was down 13% to 198,300 bpd.

One of the sources said Kashagan's decline was linked to maintenance. NCOC, the Kashagan operator, did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The decline in Kazakhstan’s overall output in January was driven by restrictions on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) export route, after infrastructure was damaged in a drone attack, as well as the outage at Tengiz.