Karachaganak Processing Complex
Mott MacDonald have been appointed by Karachaganak Petroleum
Development Ltd (KPDL) to play a key advisory role in this major
development scheme.
The Karachaganak field is located in the Uralsk region of north
western Kazakhstan and has a total proved oil reserves of 1.2
billion tonnes (9.996 billion barrels (bbls) and 13 trillion cubic
feet of gas (Tcf). The existing Phase II Karachaganak Processing
Complex, which comprises three Condensate Trains, has been in
operation since 2003. KPDL, The plant operator and developer,
intend to extend the existing processing plant by addition of a 4th
Condensate Train. The capital cost of the project is estimated to
be £1bn USD.
Project Description
The existing Phase II Karachaganak Oil and Gas Processing
Complex currently has a capacity of 7.7 million tonnes per annum
(MTA). The addition of a 4th train which will include substation,
compressor and generator units, is scheduled for completion in
2009, and will increase the capacity of the existing plant to 10.27
MTA. The development is governed by an EPMC (Engineering,
Procurement and Management of Construction) form of
contract.
The 3 condensate trains within the complexMott
MacDonald Brief
Mott MacDonald have been appointed as KPDL’s Advisor during the
Pre-FEED and FEED stages, to manage and supervise ground
investigation, prepare geotechnical interpretative reports and
carry out ground risk management.
Unique Features
The ground investigation has revealed the presence of unsaturated
loess, which is collapsible on wetting. The main technical issues
have been the selection of reliable parameters as well as the
selection of an appropriate design approach for the partially
saturated loess, for which there is little data in the existing
literature. While the assessments/analyses carried out were
generally based on UK/International practice, efforts have also
been made to carry out design checks consistent with the
requirements of the local Russian practice.
View of plant fractioning towerSpecial
Solutions
In order to achieve a more economic design and construction and
reduce project risks to an acceptable and manageable level, the
preliminary foundation solutions proposed are subject to
verification prior to the start of the permanent works. It is
recommended that the investigations and load tests forming part of
the verification will be carried out as part of an advance
contract, prior to the main works contract.
Explore our work in this sector
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Ground Movement Prediction and Risk Assessment
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