PSA signed for giant Karachaganak oil and gas field

Texaco, Agip, BG Exploration and Production and Lukoil have signed the production sharing agreement for Kazakhstan's giant Karachaganak oil and gas condensate field at a U.S. State Department ceremony attended by the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, and Vice President Al Gore.
The signing took place in Washington during President Nazarbayev's visit to the United States and concludes five years of negotiation. One of the largest gas condensate fields in the world, Karachaganak currently sells an average 50,000 bpd of condensate and 250 mm cfpd.
Project participants are:
Agip 32.5 %
BG 32.5 %
Texaco 20 %
Lukoil 15 %
Karachaganak -- discovered in 1979 and potentially holding recoverable reserves of 2.4 billion barrels of oil and condensate, plus 16 tcf of gas -- will be developed in phases to match the completion of liquids export pipelines. The first phase of development will involve the workover of some of the field's existing wells, the drilling of new wells and the installation of liquid processing and gas injection equipment.
Most first phase facilities will be finished to coincide with commissioning of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium pipeline scheduled for completion by the year 2001. Total liquids and gas sales on completion of the first phase of development are estimated to reach 175,000 bpd of condensate and 500 mm cfpd. Further development work, including additional wells, gas processing and injection equipment, and production facilities, is anticipated to take total liquids and gas sales to levels of 260,000 bpd of condensate and 1.4 bn cfpd.