Kashagan pipeline requires complete replacement - NCOC

"At the present time, the operator is engaged in working out a plan on the pipelines complete replacement which is to be completed by mid-2014. Resumption of production will depend on the results of the study, which should be available by the end of the 2nd quarter. But Kashagan oil production is not expected in 2014", the press release reads. Damaged pipelines designed to transport oil and gas from the D artificial island to "Bolashak" oil and gas treatment unit. It is a blow for the consortium of companies - including ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Total, Eni and CNPC - which have invested some USD50bn in the project so far in the hope that it would one day produce as much oil as Libya. Kashagan is the world's fifth-largest field by reserves and the largest outside the Middle East, according to the US Department of Energy. According to the press-service additional inspections of the pipeline have been conducted. 47 kilometers of onshore pipeline were excavated. Specialists inspected 970 welds by non-destructive testing (ultrasonic testing). In general, these studies involved more than 500 people. Three independent laboratories (Technical Welding Institute (TWI), UK; Materials Development Center (CSM), Italy; Institut Français de la Corrosion, France) will analyze samples of damaged sections of pipelines and establish the cause of leaks.