To restart production at Kashagan, 16,400 pipes have been purchased,
each approximately 12 metres long and weighing about 10 tonnes.
Kazakhstan’s Energy Minister
Kanat Bozumbaev has
announced that on October 23 is the official date of restarting
production at the giant oil field Kashagan at the Caspian section of
Kazakhstan.
In the meantime, the first load of Kashagan oil has already gone for
export, the Kazakh Ministry of Energy and then the press service of the
Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) and KazTransOil reported last week.
This week, Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister
Bahytzhan Sagintaev,
reported to the head of state in Akorda that the oil and gas field
Kashagan has resumed production at the level of 90,000 barrels a day.
The cautious restraint of the Kazakh government with respect to this
complex field is completely understandable. After repeated delays, oil
production at Kashagan had been stopped in 2013 due to gas leaks and
pipeline defects.
According to the experts, the reason for the pipeline leaks was the
"sulfide stress fracking on the welded seams and the body of the pipe
due to unforeseen formation of hard spots in the steel”.
As is known, two Japanese companies, Sumitomo and JFE, had delivered
the pipes for Kashagan. The pipeline-laying contractor had been an
Italian company Saipem.
The project operator NCOC (North Caspian Operating Company), after a
careful verification of the damage analysis, had decided to replace the
entire 200 milometres of pipes connecting the field with the Bolashak
oil treatment plant on the shore.
Clearly, all that involved great costs and required long time. But
the NCOC shareholders came to an agreement with the Kazakh party to
classify the original pipelines and their installation as sunk costs
under the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA).
The question "whose fault is it?” is not that important anymore now
that the funding is found and the pipe installation is complete
ahead-of-schedule. Today, everybody’s concerns are different: "Were the
past mistakes taken into account? What has been done to ensure save
production at Kashagan in the future?”
First of all, as has been reported, the Consortium changed the pipe
suppliers. It signed contracts with Germany’s Butting and Japan’s
Marubeni. A total of 16,400 pipes (200 km) were purchased, each
approximately 12 meters long and weighing about 10 tonnes.
The new pipes are different from the old ones in that they are made
of 2-layer composite steel. The first is the cladding layer. It is made
of corrosion resistant alloy that will be in contact with the sour crude
and gas. The second is the protection layer made of carbon steel of
special composition for required hardness and resistance.
In addition, each pipe was tested both in the process of
manufacturing and after the delivery to the construction site. According
to the specialists, such steel with corrosion resistant alloy cladding
has already proven itself at the sour oil and gas other projects all
over the world.
The CPC specialists also developed a new route for the pipeline
laying. For example, the offshore pipelines were installed approximately
150 metres away from the old ones. By contrast, the onshore pipeline
was laid in the same trench from which the old one had been removed.
Another "weak link” that has been addressed with a special attention
is the welding and assembling of pipes. The Consortium was very careful
in its selection of welders and welding methods. The CPC has assured the
journalists that the welded seams are subjected to non-destructive
testing (mainly radiographic inspection) before their acceptance.
In addition, the pipelines from Island D to the Bolashak plant are
equipped with pressure sensors capable of detecting any change in the
pressure levels. In the case of a smallest leak in the pipes, the
electronic system will send an alarm signal to the monitors of the
central control room. There is also a regular helicopter patrolling of
the pipelines.
All these safety measures give hope that the oil production at
Kashagan will continue without unpleasant "surprises” and will prove
worth all the billions of dollars invested in it, along with bringing
the long-awaited profits to the public coffers of Kazakhstan.
As has been announced earlier, during the first months after the
resumption of offshore operations and commissioning, Kashagan production
is expected to be at a planned level of 180,000 barrels per day. After
the beginning of reinjection of the associated (sour) gas and
optimization by late 2017, the first stage of the Kashagan project is
expected to reach a planned level of production of 370,000 bpd.
At the future stages, under a positive development scenario, Kashagan
production may grow up to the nameplate design capacity of 450,000
barrels per day.
https://www.neweurope.eu/article/kashagan-boost-safety-measures-restart-oil-production/