Lukoil to abandon two offshore exploration projects in Kazakhstan

    Lukoil Overseas, a subsidiary of Russian oil major Lukoil, plans to withdraw from two of its three exploration projects in the Kazakh section of the Caspian Sea, the RIA Novosti news agency reported on Wednesday, citing the company’s Kazakhstan representative Andrei Kirilliov.
    
    “In regards to the Atash and Tyub-Karagan projects, our expectations have not been met and the projects are in the process of being shut down,” Kirillov said.
    Progress on the Zhambay-South Zaburunye offshore prospect has been delayed due to difficult operating conditions in the shallow waters of the Caspian Sea and the unavailability of drilling equipment in the region, Kirillov said. Lukoil Overseas is currently in the process of selecting a drilling contractor.
    
    “On the whole, [our] exploration of the Caspian Sea has not yet yielded the expected results, and we have not made any commercial discoveries,” the Lukoil executive added, SRI reports.