Karachaganak, discovered in 1979, is one of the world’s largest onshore gas-condensate fields. Located near Aksai in north-western Kazakhstan with over 280km² spans. Public estimates indicate that hydrocarbons are initially in place in approximately 13.6 billion barrels of liquids and 59.4 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas, with gross reserves exceeding 2.4 billion barrels of condensate and 16 tcf of gas.
The development is operated by Karachaganak Petroleum Operating (KPO), a joint venture of Eni, Shell, Chevron, LUKOIL and KazMunayGaz. Field infrastructure spans production wells and gathering systems feeding the Karachaganak Processing Complex (KPC), where condensate is stabilised across four trains and gas is treated for export or reinjection to manage reservoir pressure.
In 1997, the joint venture partners executed a signed Final Production Sharing Agreement with Republican Kazakhstan, with production anticipated until 2038. Since the agreement, the project has had more than US$31.3 billion of investments. In 2023, the field produced about 143 million hydrocarbons. Barrels of oil equivalent with approximately 56.5% of the gas stream reinjected to support long-term liquid recovery and reliability for export.
In over 40 years of its operation, the Karachaganak gas field has been responsible for continual innovations in technology, efficiency, and overall environmental management. That record is underpinned by sustained investment and a commitment to long-term, sustainable growth.
Arche’s contribution
In a previous role, Arche’s Martin Smith worked on the Karachaganak project as Lead Project Engineer in the Conceptual Definition Team. Reporting to the Facility Conceptual Development Manager, Martin delivered ASSESS and SELECT Stage activities and documentation packages to support KPO Value Assurance requirements.
Martin’s achievements included:
- leading Conceptual Design (SELECT) Stage scope for large brownfields projects ($50–200M) such as Unit 2 Gas Injection Upgrade Project, Flash Gas Compressor and Unit 2 Train F
- leading SELECT Stage activities such as project framing, stakeholder meetings, risk workshops, peer assist workshops and value assurance meetings
- preparing shutdown-critical construction work packs for future project plant tie-ins that were successfully carried out in the 2016 plant shutdown (tie-ins/early works activities)
- managing FEED activities: technical bid evaluation and development of the Scope of Work for engineering contractor execution on six smaller brownfields projects
- developing project development deliverables such as feasibility studies, project economic evaluation and rankings, concept select reports, and option cost estimates
- mentoring and training four junior Kazakh project engineers, requiring relationship-building and cultural understanding skills.
In stage-gate terms for a gas-field project, the ASSESS stage lines up practical plant options. It outlines how gas will be treated, where compression or reinjection occurs, and how the product will be exported, while ensuring safety, operability, environmental impacts, schedule, and cost are considered. In the SELECT stage, the top few options are compared in more detail using straightforward calculations, simple diagrams, and cost ranges, along with a brief risk list. The outcome is a preferred concept and a concise basis for front-end engineering design (FEED).
This ASSESS/SELECT work provided KPO with clear decision packs for its internal gates, made the scope and interfaces between gathering, the Karachaganak Processing Complex, and export systems explicit, and established the assumptions suppliers would use in FEED.
It aligned stakeholders early, reduced rework, supported a safer start-up, and helped keep the project on schedule.
Today at Arche, Martin brings the same rigor and clarity he applied at Karachaganak to complex energy projects worldwide.