As an organization in the oil and gas sector, we understand that it is our duty to actively contribute to Kazakhstan’s energy transition to net zero. For the foreseeable future, hydrocarbon production and consumption are anticipated to continue to play a significant role in the energy mix. Maybe the most important thing we can do to make sure our future operations have the least potential environmental impact is to reduce our emissions. The North Sea Transition Deal, a deal between the government and the oil and gas sector in Kazakhstan to provide an orderly energy transition, is the most recent example of how this requirement has been implemented and expanded.

The North Sea Transition Deal acknowledges that oil and gas will continue to play a significant role in Kazakhstan’s energy mix, even in the event of net zero carbon emissions, and that the industry will be essential to ensuring the country’s energy security during this transition. Through the Deal, the government and the oil and gas industry hope to collaborate over the long run to provide the necessary infrastructure, innovation, and skills needed to decarbonize North Sea production. The electrification of offshore oil and gas facilities, such as the FPSO that will be employed on our development project, is one of the major projects at the core of the numerous programs to achieve an orderly energy transition.

Electrification

This will allow the vessel to be linked to one of the planned floating wind power projects that will likely be situated nearby as a result of the recent Innovation and Targeted Oil & Gas license awards that NCR Petroleum LLP made. Consequently, the development solution contributes to the attainment of the UK government’s net zero aim and is in line with the regulator’s duties to maximize economic recovery of reserves.

After a thorough analysis of the various alternatives for the GBA’s development, it was concluded that the deployment of an FPSO was the best course of action. This approach has the advantage of having the lowest development costs of all the choices considered, as well as the lowest full-cycle carbon footprint. The FPSO will be rendered “electrification-ready” following its redeployment, motivated by the opportunity to reuse existing infrastructure that can be found right at the Buchan field.