This milestone follows the completion of the Wellhead Pressure Management Project in 2024, designed to optimize the Tengiz oil field and processing plants.
Chevron Corp.’s 50%-owned joint venture, Tengizchevroil (TCO), commenced oil production at the Future Growth Project (FGP) processing plant in Kazakhstan. The FGP expansion, located in the Tengiz oil field, aims to:
The Tengiz oil field in western Kazakhstan is the deepest producing supergiant oil field and the largest single-trap producing reservoir—FGP is the third operational processing plant in this field.
“First oil at the Future Growth Project is the latest in a series of development milestones, including in the Gulf of Mexico and the Permian, that are expected to significantly increase free cash flow to the company and deliver value for Chevron shareholders,” said Mark Nelson, Vice Chairman, Chevron.
Future Growth Project in Kazakhstan; image credit: Chevron
Chevron in Kazakhstan
This first-oil production milestone follows the completion of the Wellhead Pressure Management Project (WPMP) in 2024, which aims to optimize the Tengiz field and its processing plants. Chevron’s FGP and WPMP projects installed turbine-driven power systems across the field, including: five Frame-9 gas turbine generators, four large compression trains with additional pumping capacity, and a centralized control center. The projects also improved sour gas handling and reinjection capabilities to support long-term pressure maintenance.
“This milestone concludes a multiyear project that completely revamped the gathering and processing capacity of one of the world’s largest oil fields that will provide significant economic benefit for the Republic of Kazakhstan,” said Clay Neff, President, Chevron International Exploration & Production. “This accomplishment was possible due to our partnership with Kazakhstan, our contractors, and the local workforce.”
TCO, in addition to Chevron’s 50% ownership, is held by ExxonMobil at 25%; KazMunayGas at 20%; and Lukoil at 5%.
Chevron Oil & Gas News
Last week, Brightmark RNG achieved a first gas milestone at 10 RNG projects in Iowa, Michigan, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Ohio, increasing its ownership and operation to 15 RNG projects in Midwestern region. Brightmark has reduced methane emissions via anaerobic digestion by over 1.2 million tons of CO2 equivalent at its RNG circularity centers.
The company’s anaerobic digestion process produces RNG in partnership with farmers: It collects and digests organic waste to extract methane and upgrades it into RNG for transportation fuel. The methane emissions reduction is equivalent to the carbon sequestered by planting and growing approximately 20 million trees over 10 years. This region generates almost 43% of the country’s agricultural products.
Also occurring last week, Chevron’s Whale semi-submersible platform started oil production in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico, with a projected peak production of 100,000 gross boe/d and up to 15 wells under development. The Whale platform is approximately 200 miles southwest of Houston on Alaminos Canyon Block 773 in more than 8,600 feet of water. It’s also located approximately 10 miles from the Shell-operated Perdido spar platform, in which Chevron owns 37.5% interest.
The Whale contains gas turbines and compression systems equipped with energy-efficient technology and utilizes a simplified design that may deliver lower emissions, lower costs, and higher returns for Chevron. Chevron U.S.A. owns 40% working interest in Whale, with Shell Offshore owning 60% interest as operator.