ExxonMobil Kazakhstan participates in North Caspian discovery
ExxonMobil announced that its subsidiary, ExxonMobil Kazakhstan, has participated in a new discovery in the North
Caspian Production Sharing Agreement (NCPSA) contract area.
The first exploration well on the Kairan prospect was completed successfully and encountered hydrocarbon bearing
intervals. Additional evaluation will be required to determine if the hydrocarbon accumulation is commercially
viable.
Kairan is the fifth discovered field on the NCPSA following Kashagan, Kalamkas, Kashagan Southwest, and Aktote. The
world-class Kashagan discovery was announced in 2000 and declared commercial in June 2002 with estimated resources of
13 bn barrels of oil. Kairan is located approximately 25 miles (40 km) east of the Kashagan field.
The drilling of Kairan-1 was carried out on an artificial island. The well was drilled to a total depth of 12,630
feet (3,850 meters) in 2003 and then suspended due to the winter ice season. Testing operations commenced in March
2004 and the well was tested at a rate of 4,100 bpd on a 32/64-inch choke.
The North Caspian PSA covers almost 1.4 mm gross acres. Companies involved in exploration and development of this
area are ENI (Operator -- 16.67 %), ExxonMobil (16.67 %), BG (16.67 %), ConocoPhillips (8.33 %), Inpex (8.33 %),
Shell (16.67 %), and Total (16.67 %).
In addition, ExxonMobil affiliates have a 25 % interest in the giant Tengiz field located on the Eastern shore of the
Caspian Sea and a 7.5 % interest in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium.
