Asana, capital of Kazakhstan, on a very cold day. CREDIT: 1001slide via Getty Images.

Energy ministers in Kazakhstan have requested that planned maintenance on the country’s giant oilfield be delayed as the risk of gas shortages during the winter months looms large.  

The country’s Energy Ministry wants next year’s maintenance at the Kashagan oilfield, set to begin in October, to be pushed back, US media outlets reported.  

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A letter regarding the request was sent to the North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC) consortium and its partners, which operate the site, with a decision set to be made on 10 September.  

CNPC, Eni, ExxonMobil, Inpex, KazMunayGas, Shell and TotalEnergies are all partners with NCOC at the Kashagan site.  

According to Offshore Technology’s parent company, GlobalData, the Kashagan oil field produced 463,584boe/d in 2023.  

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The oilfield is currently set to be shut down in October with the planned maintenance to last 28 days.  

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The Energy Ministry explained in a statement that it has considered delaying the maintenance but has not made a final decision because the country does not want to ignore obligations that it agreed to in a recent deal with the OPEC+ grouping.  

The agreement entails a a compensation plan that Kazakhstan must adhere to after overproducing oil from January to June 2024.  

The NCOC explained that the start of the scheduled maintenance would eventually be announced on its website but failed to explain when this would be.  

The latest reports by Kazakh news indicate that, as of Friday, no decision on delaying the maintenance has been made and the country maintains its commitment to the OPEC+ agreement.  

The Kazakh Energy Ministry said: “Kazakhstan reaffirms its commitment to the OPEC+ Agreement and supports decisions taken jointly with the OPEC+ member countries.” 

It continued that the country has updated its compensation plan and that “Kazakhstan will make every effort to comply with its obligations and compensate for overproduction.”