BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 7. Construction of the 1
billion cubic meter (bcm) per year gas processing plant (GPP) at
Kazakhstan's Kashagan field has reached 61.4% completion and
remains on schedule for completion by the end of 2026.


The update was provided by Alibek Zhamauov, Chairman of the
Management Board of QazaqGaz, during a government meeting,
according to the government's press service.


Zhamauov noted that deliveries of the plant's main equipment
have reached 98%. A total of 1,775 workers and 314 units of
specialized machinery are operating around the clock at the
construction site, enabling all construction and installation works
to be completed by the end of next year.


The national gas company is also advancing several other
strategic infrastructure projects. For the second string of the
Beineu–Bozoi–Shymkent trunk gas pipeline, the basic design has been
completed, engineering surveys are 98% finished, and the overall
design progress has reached 35.56%.


Equipment orders have already been placed, while the first batch
of pipes has arrived at Kazakhstan's border with China. Pipe
distribution along the route is scheduled to begin in early August,
followed by welding and installation in mid-August. The first
shipment of gas compressor units is expected to leave the
manufacturing plant in September.







"For the 2.5 bcm-per-year Kashagan gas processing plant project,
the EPC contractor has been selected. The FEED+EPC contract is
planned to be signed in the fourth quarter of this year," Zhamauov
said.


In addition to the 1 bcm-per-year facility currently under
construction, Kazakhstan also plans to build a second gas
processing plant at Kashagan with a capacity of 2.5 bcm per year.
Together, the two plants will be capable of processing up to 3.5
bcm of Kashagan gas annually. Construction is also underway on a
separate gas processing plant in Zhanaozen with a capacity of 900
million cubic meters per year.


According to the North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC),
Kashagan is one of the largest oil discoveries made in recent
decades, with estimated recoverable oil reserves of approximately
9–13 billion barrels (1–2 billion metric tons). The reservoir is
located about 80 kilometers offshore from Atyrau in the North
Caspian Sea, in waters 3–4 meters deep, with the reservoir lying at
a depth of more than 4,200 meters below the seabed.