Fire halts output at Kazakhstan’s massive Tengiz oil field

Oil production has been suspended at Kazakhstan’s largest field due to power supply issues / Photo: Gov.kz, photo editor: Serikzhan Kovlanbayev

Oil production at the Tengiz and Korolevskoye fields in Kazakhstan has been temporarily suspended due to power supply disruptions, according to operator Tengizchevroil (TCO), a subsidiary of U.S.-based Chevron. Tengiz is the country’s largest oil field.

TCO said the shutdown was prompted by an incident affecting parts of the power distribution system at production facilities. The company said its technical teams are working to determine the root cause, with safety as the top priority.

Earlier, Kazakhstan’s state energy company, KazMunayGas (KMG), reported that at 9:53 a.m. local time Jan. 18, a fire broke out in the GT-9.3 turbine transformer at the GTPS-4 gas turbine power station in Tengiz. A second transformer, GT-9.5, caught fire at 11:20 a.m.

KMG said TCO’s emergency response team extinguished the fires and reported no casualties. The cause of the incidents is under investigation.

Previous media reports said 473 employees were evacuated following a fire in an electrical transformer at the TCO site.

Chevron owns 50% of TCO. Exxon Mobil holds a 25% stake, KMG owns 20%, and Russia’s Lukoil holds the remaining 5%.