Page 14 - FSUOGM Week 09 2021

FSUOGM NEWS IN BRIEF FSUOGM

CENTRAL ASIA & SOUTH operated by the National Bank of Kazakhstan levels to 2019. Projects were concentrated in
and financed from surplus revenues gained Russia and Uzbekistan and the Group drilled
CAUCASUS from taxes on the development of oil, gas and 1.33mn meters (2019: 1.37 million meters).
mineral reserves. Similarly, the number of wells drilled was
US district court rules aforementioned award are set to be granted almost identical - 344 (2019: 350),” the
Around 70% of the proceeds under the
company said.
Kazakh wealth fund asset to the international bondholders of Tristan
Oil, including Argentem Creek.
manager must produce New York last year against Argentem Creek Output at Kazakhstan's
Kazakhstan filed a separate lawsuit in
financial records Partners as part of its ongoing effort to avoid giant Tengiz oil field falls
paying the award.
Magistrate Bowler of the United States In December, the Dutch Supreme Court 11% in 2020
District Court in Boston has affirmed her set aside the Amsterdam Court of Appeal's
report and recommendation finding State decision related to the $5.2bn attachment of Oil production at Kazakhstan’s flagship Tengiz
Street Corporation, asset manager for one Kazakhstan's stake (via its sovereign wealth oil field fell by 11% in 2020 to 577,000 barrels
of Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth funds, is fund Samruk-Kazyna) in the international per day (bpd), the Chevron-led operating
compelled to produce certain documents, consortium developing Kashagan.. . consortium Tengizchevroil said in a statement
details of SWIFT payments, emails and other on February 23.
financial records tied to the custodianship and The consortium said it had accounted for
management of Kazakhstan National Fund Eriell continues work on 35% of Kazakhstan’s 2020 oil production,
assets. which was reduced by Kazakhstan’s
The Kazakh government, in 2010, construction and overhaul participation in OPEC+ global output
nationalised assets associated with Tristan cuts last year. Tengiz crude is the largest
Oil, a company primarily set up for funding of wells in Uzbekistan contributor to the CPC blend loaded at the
oil and gas projects in Kazakhstan. An Black Sea port of Novorossiisk with the field’s
arbitration tribunal in Sweden found in ERIELL Group, an international oilfield nameplate capacity at 600,000 bpd.
2013 that the nationalisation stood in services group, has said that it is continuing to Tengizchevroil has seen a $45bn
violation of international law and that work on a large programme to construct new expansion project held up by coronavirus
significant monetary losses were suffered and overhaul existing wells in Uzbekistan. (COVID-19) outbreaks on site. The company
by the investors after a "a string of measures In cooperation with contractors, expects to raise crude output capacity to
of coordinated harassment by various namely Uzbekneftegas drilling companies, 850,000 bpd and overall hydrocarbon output
institutions of Kazakhstan". The tribunal ERIELL has drilled 84 wells and carried out capacity to 1mn bpd of oil equivalent. The
awarded $500mn to the owners of Tristan formation hydraulic fracturing at 22 wells. project is now 81% complete - the expansion
Oil, but no payment by Kazakhstan has been At an extension of the UGS Gazli is scheduled for completion by mid-2023.
made to date - $540mn is currently due, project, the company drilled 16 vertical and Chevron CEO Mike Wirth said: “There’s
including legal cost awards and interest. directional wells with telemetry. Three of the a lot of work that hasn’t been done over
The award was upheld in 2017 as final wells were drilled ahead of schedule, it said. the last going on a year now, as this has
and non-appealable. The dispute has led As part of a programme to increase been impacting us. And so, we’re working
to the freezing of sovereign Kazakh assets crude production at the Jizzakh Petroleum on optimizing schedules and work plans
worth $6.27bn worldwide, including an joint venture, ERIELL drilled 23 wells, and understanding what the full impact of
attachment of $5.2bn of shares in giant oil commissioned 20 wells, and completed the that is. It’s hard to quantify that until we
field Kashagan. construction of flowlines with a length of really are back at work. And, certainly, in
State Street did not immediately 15.2 km and power lines with a length of 10.5 the wintertime, things tend to slow down,
comply with the magistrate’s report and km. and in summertime, they’ll pick up. And
recommendation, issued originally in The company also said it experienced so, we need to see our ability to sustain
November 2020, and instead sought zero work stoppages, or any other downtime the workforce there to get work done
clarification and reconsideration. The ruling during last year. productively and begin to chew into this
denied State Street’s request and said that “In extremely challenging economic backlog.”
the report and recommendation had been circumstances for the entire world in
“unambiguous”. 2020, ERIELL showed great resilience and
The Kazakhstan National Fund is maintained production at almost identical

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