Kazakhstan to drill well in a bid for shale oil

A 3.5 km well to be drilled in Kyzylorda region to reach shale oil / Photo: kmgb.kz, photo editor: Serikzhan Kovlanbayev

Drilling of a 3.5-kilometer-deep well is planned at the Beles block near Kumkol oil field — the largest in the Kyzylorda region — to confirm the potential for shale oil development at the new site, KazMunayGas (KMG), a Samruk-Kazyna subsidiary, said in a press release.

«The next project of strategic importance is Beles, which is focused on a fundamentally new type of hydrocarbon for the region — shale oil. The Beles site is located near Kumkol, the region’s largest oil field. The project involves drilling a 3,500-meter-deep well with core sampling from source rocks for subsequent geochemical studies aimed at evaluating the prospects for shale oil development,» the statement said.

A meeting on the development of geological exploration was held between KMG CEO Askhat Khassenov and then governor of the Kyzylorda region Nurlybek Nalibayev.

KMG’s geological exploration program for 2026-2029 comprises 23 projects, including two in the Kyzylorda region.

In 2025, the company drilled the first deep well in-house at the Turgai Paleozoic block, reaching 5,585 meters. Based on the analysis of the collected data, prospects for further study of the block have been identified.

KMG is continuing its exploration of the South Turgai Basin and plans to launch the Turgai Paleozoic No. 2 project. The minimum work program includes reprocessing of legacy 2D and 3D seismic data, followed by new 3D seismic surveys and drilling of a 4,500-meter-deep well in the most promising zone.

Khassenov said that KMG will continue the geological exploration program implementation in its operating regions and across underexplored sedimentary basins in order to replenish its own resource base.

Separately, in April, the first deputy CEO of KMG Kurmangazy Iskaziyev said that a hydrocarbon field comparable in scale to the Kashagan oil field could be discovered at significant depths on the Zhylyoi platform.

Furthermore, in late March, Khassenov said that KMG has been advancing 22 exploration projects with a combined resource base of 4.7 billion tons of hydrocarbons. Remaining recoverable oil reserves at KMG’s operating assets total about 445 million tons, with more than half classified as hard to recover, he noted.