Oil production and exports from Kazakhstan's largest oilfield, Tengiz, have been suspended following fires at its power generation facility. The Chevron-operated field, along with the neighboring Korolev field, was shut in after two fires broke out at the GTES-4 power plant on January 18th. The fires, which occurred at transformers serving different processing units, were extinguished with no reported injuries.

Impact and Context of the Disruption

This incident compounds recent production challenges at Tengiz, which contributes approximately 40% of Kazakhstan's total oil and condensate output. Prior to the fires, output had already been curtailed in December and January due to capacity constraints on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) export pipeline. The pipeline, which handles over 80% of Kazakh oil exports, faced operational issues after a Ukrainian drone attack in November damaged a loading buoy at its Black Sea terminal, reducing export capacity.

Background on the Tengiz Field and Expansion

Tengiz output had been growing following the recent commissioning of a major $47 billion expansion, the Future Growth Project (FGP). The GTES-4 power plant, which was commissioned in 2024, was built specifically to supply power to the new FGP processing facilities. The field's shareholders include Chevron, KazMunayGaz, ExxonMobil, and Lukoil.

Response and Ongoing Situation

Operator Tengizchevroil stated that technical teams are working to identify the root cause of the power system issue and safely resolve it, in coordination with government authorities. The company has not provided an estimated timeline for resuming production, emphasizing that personnel safety and field security remain the priority.