Thursday, 21 May 2020

Giant Kazakhstan oilfield threatened by surge in coronavirus cases | Financial Times

Giant Kazakhstan oilfield threatened by surge in coronavirus cases | Financial Times:

One of the world’s largest oilfields has been threatened with closure by local health authorities following a surge in coronavirus infections among its workers.

The Tengiz field in Kazakhstan, which produces about 500,000 barrels of oil a day, is being developed by an international consortium headed by Chevron, which said it was taking steps to minimise the spread of the virus and that production had not been affected.

The warning is the first time a major oilfield has been threatened by coronavirus and underscores the danger posed by the pandemic to remote energy projects where thousands of contractors often live and work in cramped conditions before returning home at the end of their shift rotation.

Tengiz faces closure if it fails to control the spread of the virus, Kazakhstan’s chief sanitary doctor warned on Wednesday, and demanded the project adhere to a government-backed plan to curb the outbreak. Close to 950 workers at the field have tested positive, about 13 per cent of the entire Central Asian country’s coronavirus cases.

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