An explosion this morning at Kazakstan’s Tengiz oilfield has killed at least two workers, according to local reports.
Kazinform said an explosion this morning also wounded another three workers. A blast occurred during testing of a pipe section.
The Kazakh news service said medical assistance was treating the three injured workers. It also reported an investigation had been launched into the incident.
The Atyrau police department reported the two workers who died were both born in 1985.
The Tengiz field holds around 25.5 billion barrels, of which around 7-10bn barrels are recoverable. In 2021, Tengizchevroil (TCO) the operating company reported production of around 534,000 barrels per day.
Local reports named Senimdi Kurylys as the contractor company carrying out the testing. The company was working on pressure work at TCO. The aim was to reach completion by mid-2022.
TCO is a joint venture of Chevron, ExxonMobil, KazMunayGas and LukArco.
A Russian court ruled on July 5 that exports via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) should halt for 30 days. For now, export flows from Tengiz appear to be continuing.
Kazakhstan Prime Minister Alikhan Smayilov held an emergency meeting on the CPC suspension today. The meeting involved discussion of cutting costs to the state budget and the impact of reducing oil exports.