Tengiz

Tengiz is a oil Gisement Kazakh, largest already in exploitation. It is located Onshore, very close to the north-eastern coast of the Caspian Sea. Discovered in 1979, it contains approximately 25 Gbbls initially places from there, including 6 to 9 recoverable, as well as important reserves of Gaz.

However, the content of Soufre is extremely high, so much for oil itself (more than 10%) that for associated gas. The layer is with: 3600 meters under the ground, which makes some deepest of all the layers of comparable size in the world. These two factors explain why the layer, very difficult to exploit, was not developed by the Soviets, who could much more easily increase the production in Western Siberia.

The development was undertaken with the beginning of the year 1990 by a consortium carried out by American the Chevron. A process of treatment seldom used on crude oil, the demercaptanisation, was deployed. It is about a catalytic reaction making it possible to withdraw the Thiol S, compounds chemical of type R-SH (where R is an organic radical) which contains the essence of sulfur in crude oil. Suffers from associated gas is him also extracted.

Thanks to this treatment, the consortium can sell an oil presenting a “normal” sulfur content (0.55 %), whereas the crude such as it is unsaleable. On the other hand, elementary sulfur obtained accumulates, formant from now on a mountain of more than 6 million tons in 2006, which does not seem without consequences on the local environment.

Tengiz produces approximately 450 kbbls /jours. New expansions are envisaged, as well as the massive re-injection of associated acid gas. A maximum of 700 kbbls/day should be reached in 2010.

External bond

On the project

Random links: