KMG Head Talks about Tengiz Equipment

The KazMunayGas Board Chair Askhat Khasenov commented on the situation at Tengiz, Orda.kz reports.

Reports previously emerged that there was an issue with crucial technical equipment. Orda.kz's sources claim a defect in the heat exchanger was discovered at the second-generation plant in Tengiz.

During testing, water got into the lower tubes of a boiler, and they partially rusted. 

Gas production at the plant dropped as a result. The source says they allegedly had to contact the Russian Sibur for supplies for the KPI polypropylene production facility.

The second-generation plant is operating as usual It's just not producing at full capacity, and it may even fall,the source said.

An Orda journalist asked Askhat Khasenov how reliable this information was.

Khasenov did not deny the issues with the Tengiz equipment, but he said they had already been remedied.

Yes, there was a problem with the heat exchanger. This is a production issue. We identified the problem, fixed the defect - on the contrary, it is good that we identified it. As for the impact of the KPI for polypropylene on the plant, there is, of course, an impact on propane productionsaid Askhat Khasenov .

Khasenov emphasized that purchases from Sibur are not directly related to this incident but are connected to Tengiz's plans to increase production capacity.

What we are purchasing today - I mean one-time purchases from Sibur - is because we have entered the warranty run. Today we can work above the design daily capacities that we have. They (Sibur - Ed.) have clear contractual obligations, they fulfill them. We want to take additional volume, test for productivity above the design capacity,
 explained Askhat Khasenov.

A week earlier, the Ministry of Energy officially reported that oil production at Tengiz had fallen by almost a third due to repairs to the waste heat boiler.

When it was inspected, it was discovered that the equipment was rusted through.

Original Author: Nikita Drobny