Karim Massimov visits Kashagan oil field

Massimov took to his official Instagram account to post a photo of the D [artificial] island.

"The D island," he simply captioned the photo.

During his working trip to Atyrau region, the Prime Minister inspected the operation facilities at the Kashagan oilfield, Kazinform has learnt from the prime minister's press service.

The issue of stable growth of oil output is strategically important for Kazakhstan's economy.

For instance, during one of the Government's meeting, Prime Minister Massimov instructed to increase oil output from 74 million tons to 75 million tons this year. The Ministry of Energy and KazMunaiGas company were tasked to resume oil production at Kashagan this October.

Earlier Kazinform reported that the production at the oilfield started in September 2013, but was suspended in October due to a gas leak. The production resumed on October 9, but was suspended again due to another gas leak in one of the main pipelines.

The geological reserves at Kashagan oilfield are estimated at 4,8 billion tons. The total oil reserves amount to 38 billion barrels.

The D island is located 85 km of Atyrau city. During the visit to the island, Karim Massimov surveyed the drilled wells and familiarized with the work conducted there. He was also briefed on the implementation of the North-Caspian project.