Oil companies stop production due to blackout in West Kazakhstan

The suspension of oil production in several oil fields in Western Kazakhstan is due to problems with the power supply, KazMunayGaz said in a statement on its website.

The four companies Ozenmunaygasl, Mangistaumunaygas, Karazhanbasmunai and Embamunaigas have suspended oil production on a range of oil fields across the Mangystau and Atyrau regions.

Oil companies say that they will restart oil production as soon as the power supply is restored. However, it is still unclear exactly when the blackout will be over.

On July 3, the Mangystau Nuclear Power Plant (MAEK) reported a power failure after a 130-megawatt reactor suddenly stopped working. As a result, the supply frequency across the entire power-generating system in the region sharply dropped. To cope with the situation, authorities limited the power and water supply in both Mangystau and Atyrau regions.

The power failure also hit the Atyrau Oil Refinery. The Ministry of Energy said that while the refinery is fixing the problem, the agency is going to ensure that consumers across the country have enough fuel to meet their needs with the help of reserves. On the other hand, the Shymkent refinery is also working not at full capacity due to planned scheduled maintenance while the third Kazakhstani refinery in Pavlodar isn’t working at all due to a scheduled overhaul. The blackout in the West Kazakhstan region also affected the operations of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which Kazakhstan relies on in its oil exports to the port of Novorossiysk and further to the global market. Currently, the pipeline is rebounding its work and gradually increasing its load.