OREANDA-NEWS. August 01, 2014. Minister of Oil and Gas Uzakbai Karabalin has named two possible dates for the resumption of oil production at Kashagan during a briefing in the Central Communications Service.

"Today we have some idea of what will be the scenario of the repair work and resuming the production. There are two options. The optimistic scenario is the start of production on the field will be in the first half of 2016. The second option is taking into account the completion of the pipeline’s construction in the second half of 2016. But the data will be defined more exactly," he said.

According to the Minister, crack detection in welds of gas and oil pipelines, probably, is due to incorrectly chosen technology of welding or welding techniques violation by the performer.

"Internal diagnostics conducted by the contractor showed the need for a complete replacement both of oil and gas pipeline. This means that it is necessary to buy 200 kilometers to completely replace both pipelines and to do placement operations, too," the Minister said.

The Minister also informed that petrol price will remain the same until the end of August.

"Kazakhstan produced 36,7 mln tons of oil in the first six months of 2014 that is 98,4%  against the same period of the previous year," Kazakh Oil and Gas Minister Uzakbai Karabalin said today.

The greater part of oil production falls on companies such as TCO, KPO, Mangystaumunaigas, Uzenmunaigas. Their total oil production accounts for 60% of the country's overall output.

"Kazakhstan's gas production will stay the same as in 2013," Uzakbai Karabalin, Oil and Gas Minister of Kazakhstan, stated at the briefing in Astana.

For the past six months of 2014 the country produced 21,1 bln cu m of gas that is 102% against the same period of 2013.  Dry gas production reached 14 bln cu m, while liquid gas production hit 1 mln 16 thousand tons.

As stated there, natural gas home consumption increased substantially for the first half of the year to amount to 6,9 bln cu m that is 120% as compared to 2013. This fact speaks for successful realization of the regions' gasification programme.