Kazakhstan has slashed by a quarter natural gas production at the huge Karachaganak oil and gas field after Ukraine earlier this week hit with drones a Russian plant processing part of the gas, Kazakhstan’s Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov said on Friday.
“Naturally, we have reduced the gas intake,” Reuters quoted the minister as telling reporters today.
Gas supply to Kazakhstan hasn’t been disrupted, Akkenzhenov added.
Oil production at Karachaganak, which is operated by international supermajors, is also down because gas condensate and crude output at the field are closely linked.
Currently, Karachaganak’s oil and gas condensate production is about 25,000 metric tons per day, or about 196,500 barrels per day (bpd), Akkenzhenov said.
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These volumes are down by around a quarter compared to 34,000 tons produced before the Ukrainian attack on the Orenburg gas processing plant in Russia.
In a drone attack in the early hours of Thursday, Ukraine hit the Orenburg Gas Processing Plant in Russia, as the Ukrainian armed forces are stepping up the drone offensive targeting critical Russian energy infrastructure, including processing plants, refineries, and fuel supply routes.
As a result of the strike and the fire that erupted at the Orenburg plant, Kazakhstan has been forced to curtail gas output – and with it oil production at Karachaganak, one of its biggest oil and gas condensate fields.
This isn’t the first time that Karachaganak has been forced to slash production due to a Ukrainian strike on the Orenburg complex. In October 2025, a Ukrainian drone attack halted gas processing at Russia’s Orenburg complex, forcing a reduction of production at Karachaganak.
Italy’s energy giant Eni and UK-based supermajor Shell are joint operators of the Karachaganak Venture, with each holding a 29.25% interest in the venture. U.S. supermajor Chevron and Russia’s second-largest oil producer, Lukoil, hold interests of 18% and 13.5%, respectively. Kazakhstan’s national company KazMunayGas has a 10% stake in the venture.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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