Giant Kazakhstan oilfield threatened by surge in #Coronavirus cases

One of the world’s largest oilfields has been threatened with closure by local health authorities following a surge in coronavirus infections among its workers. The Tengiz field in Kazakhstan (pictured), which produces about 500,000 barrels of oil a day, is being developed by an international consortium headed by Chevron, which said it was taking steps to minimize the spread of the virus and that production had not been affected.

The warning is the first time a major oilfield has been threatened by coronavirus and underscores the danger posed by the pandemic to remote energy projects where thousands of contractors often live and work in cramped conditions before returning home at the end of their shift rotation.

Tengiz faces closure if it fails to control the spread of the virus, Kazakhstan’s chief sanitary doctor warned on Wednesday (20 May), and demanded the project adhere to a government-backed plan to curb the outbreak. Close to 950 workers at the field have tested positive, about 13% of the entire Central Asian country’s coronavirus cases.

“At present, it is necessary to ensure control over the implementation of this plan. Otherwise, this may lead to an increase in the number of patients, isolation and either the natural closure of the enterprise or its forced closure,” Aizhan Yesmagambetova said at a press briefing. People familiar with the situation at the site downplayed the threat of potential closure and said the spread of Covid-19 was being contained.

Tengizchevroil (TCO), the project’s operator, said in a statement that “production continues uninterrupted and we remain focused on maintaining safe and reliable operations”. TCO said it had established a hospital in Tengiz “to handle mild and asymptomatic cases” and was “temporarily reducing non-essential activities and personnel”. The company had also divided critical personnel into separate “pods” to minimise the spread of infection and ensure that healthy teams of employees are available to perform integral tasks.

Chevron said that TCO was “taking every step to protect the health of its workers and to try to ensure that TCO production continues uninterrupted”. TCO, is headed by Chevron and counts ExxonMobil, Russia’s Lukoil and Kazakh state-owned KazMunaiGaz as shareholders. Tengiz has estimated recoverable reserves of 6-9bn barrels of oil, but has been beset by exploration delays, drilling issues and labour issues that have sparked riots among workers, most recently last year.

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