Chevron Kazakh venture to start gas plant operations after halt

ALMATY. February 19. KAZINFORM TengizChevroil LLP, the Kazakh venture led by Chevron Corp., said it?s working to resume operations at a gas-processing plant after a ?seal failure? triggered a halt last week.

The incident at the Second Generation Plant occurred on Feb. 13, which led to a controlled shutdown, Linsi Crain, an Atyrau-based spokeswoman for TengizChevroil, said in a statement e-mailed today. The Central Asian nation?s biggest oil exporter completed the $5.5 billion gas-processing plant and gas-injection system last year to help boost production. Other sections of the Tengiz complex are producing normally, Crain said. ?The equipment is in the process of being repaired and production from the plant should be restored today,?? Crain said. TengizChevroil said on Feb. 3 it plans to increase output by about 16 percent this year to around 20 million metric tons of oil (400,000 barrels a day). Chevron holds 50 percent of the venture, while Exxon Mobil Corp. has 25 percent, Kazakhstan?s state-run KazMunaiGaz National Co. 20 percent and Russian producer OAO Lukoil 5 percent, Kazinform refers to Bloomberg.