International venture Tengizchevroil will invest USD 2 billion until 2005 as part of an ambitious expansion plan for the Tengiz field, the company’s general director said. The 40-year venture, which unites Chevron (50%), Kazakhstan (20%), ExxonMobil (25%) and LUKArco (5%), has already spent an estimated USD 2 billion since 1993 on developing Tengiz in NW Kazakhstan. “We will invest an additional USD 2 billion in implementing major stages of the expansion within the 2005 time frame,” Tom Winterton, Tengizchevroil general director, said. Winterton said the plan aimed to boost the annual capacity of Tengiz’s crude fractionation plant by seven million tonnes. The processing plant can now handle 12 million tonnes a year that roughly corresponds to the venture’s crude output. He said the venture also planned to start reinjecting sour gas into the Tengiz reservoir that would allow it to boost oil output due to the increased pressure in oil wells.
