Opec+ creates Central Asian headache for IOCs

Foreign companies tapping large fields in and around the Caspian Sea face tricky decisions on production cuts

The decisions of Central Asian oil-producing nations to agree production cuts in line with the Opec+ group has created friction with IOCs active in the region. The firms are understandably reluctant to commit to sizeable output cuts at fields with billion-dollar developments tabs. Kazakhstan’s government instructed companies in mid-May to throttle back an estimated 22pc of production in the May-June period, as part of the overall 9.7mn bl/d Opec+ cut. This equates to 390,000bl/d of shut-in production out of Kazakhstan’s 1.7mn bl/d of total output. The onshore 650,000bl/d Tengiz field, developed by the Chevron-led Tengizchevroil (TCO) joint venture, and the 400,000bl/d Kashagan field, develop