Tengiz Field

Tengiz field (Tengiz is Kazakh for "sea"), in western Kazakhstan, is located in the low-lying wetlands along the northeast shores of the Caspian Sea. Discovered in 1979, Tengiz oil field is one of the largest discoveries in recent history. The city of Atyrau, convert|350|km|mi|-1 north of Tengiz, is the main transport hub of Tengiz oil. Many nations are involved in a large geopolitical competition to secure access to this source of oil.

Reserves and production

The Tengizchevroil (TCO) joint venture has developed the Tengiz field since 1993. The major partners in Tengizchevroil are Chevron (50% ownership), ExxonMobil (25% ownership), the Kazakhstani government through KazMunayGas (20% ownership) and Russian LukArco (5%).

Estimated at up to 25 billion barrels (4 km³) of oil originally in place, Tengiz is the sixth largest oil field in the world; recoverable crude oil reserves have been estimated at 6 to 9 billion barrels (0.9 to 1.4 km³). Like many other oil fields, the Tengiz also contains large reserves of natural gas. Since the oil from Tengiz contains a high amount of sulfur (up to 17%), an estimated 6 million tons of sulfur byproduct were stored in the form of large sulfur blocks as of December 2002. At the time, about 4000 tonnes a day was being added. [http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,3604,853310,00.html] On October 3rd, 2007, the Kazakh environment ministry was reported to be considering imposing fines against TCO for alleged breaches in the way the sulfur is stored. [http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/10/03/ap4183238.html]

In 2002, TCO produced 285,000 barrels (45,000 m³) per day, or one third of Kazakhstan's daily production. In January 2003, after contentious negotiations with the government of Kazakhstan, the TCO consortium members initiated a $3 billion expansion project designed to boost production to approximately 450,000 barrels (72,000 m³) per day by 2006. According to Chevron, Tengiz could potentially produce 700,000 barrels (111,000 m³) per day by the end of the decade.

An area of major geopolitical competition involves the routing of oil out of this oil field. Oil from the Tengiz field is primarily routed to the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) project. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline is a competing pipeline put forth by U.S. interests to bypass dependence on the Russian pipeline. In addition, Total is interested in developing a pipeline south through Iran, which is theoretically the cheapest route;Fact|date=June 2007 due to the geopolitical climate involving Iran, however, the United States do not favor this route.

Geology

The oil reservoir at Tengiz occupies an immense build-up of limestone, essentially a large atoll or reef built on the margin of the deep North Caspian Basin. The atoll was built by marine organisms such as corals, mostly during Carboniferous time, but some reef-building probably occurred earlier during the Devonian Period as well as later during the Permian. The reservoir is sealed by thick, impermeable Kungurian salt of Permian age.

Trivia

The Tengiz oil field was mentioned in the film Syriana (2005) starring George Clooney.

References

* [http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=5705 | Kazakstan Field's Riches Come With a Price - The St. Petersburg Times October 23rd 2001]
* Stratigraphy, facies, and reservoir distribution, Tengiz Field, Kazakhstan (2003) L. James Weber, Brent P. Francis, P.M. (Mitch) Harris, and Michael Clark. In: SEPM Special Publication 78: Permo-Carboniferous Carbonate Platforms and Reefs, Edited By: Wayne M. Ahr, Paul M. (Mitch) Harris, William A. Morgan, and Ian D. Somerville.

External links

* http://www.hydrocarbons-technology.com/projects/tengiz/
* http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=46.160799&lon=53.407294&z=14.5&r=0&src=ggl
* http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/download.php?Number=699927 - Sulfur Pads in Google Earth