Limited

The owner of the Karaturun Yuzhny field spoke about the situation with the burning well No. 303. Referring to the satellite data of the French company Kayrros SAS, which states that the rate of methane emissions from an emergency well is from 35 to 107 metric tons per hour, Buzachi Oil LLP considered it incorrect to compare the estimated amount of methane emissions with car emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2).

– “Buzachi Oil” has already informed the public that at the emergency well No. 303 in a constant, not pulsating mode, the gas-water mixture is being released and burned. The fountain is predominantly water. The amount of gas is insignificant, about 12,000 cubic meters per day, and at a combustion temperature (at the epicenter) of 650 degrees Celsius, almost all methane burns out without causing significant harm to the environment, the company noted.

According to air samples taken on June 9, June 23 and July 30, 2023, after the accident, the maximum allowable concentration (MPC) of harmful elements in the air in the sanitary protection zone does not exceed the permissible values, the company says.

– In industrial practice, in case of unauthorized release of methane from wells, in order to prevent its free volatilization into the atmosphere, gas releases are usually specially set on fire using a shot of a signal flare charge. In order to confirm the information already provided by Buzachi Neft, we are attaching a video that clearly demonstrates that a shot fired from a rocket launcher did not ignite a cloud over an emergency well, which, according to Kayrros SAS, contains a significant methane fraction – a shot of a burning projectile is inevitable would have provoked the ignition of methane in its presence, – explained in the partnership.

The company emphasized that given that the fountain at the emergency well No. 303 mainly consists of water, steam emissions from the well are hot steam clouds with an insignificant content of methane molecules of no more than 2-3 percent, which was seen on satellite images. At the same time, precipitation in the form of salts also falls as a result of vaporization in the well burning area.

– Currently, liquidation work is ongoing at the emergency well No. 303. As of August 7, directional well No. 305-N has been drilled to 410 meters. Drilling also continues at vertical well No. 302 in order to flood gas horizons – a hundred meters have already been drilled.

Recall, on June 9, at well No. 303 of the Karaturun Yuzhny field of the limited liability partnership (LLP) Buzachi Neft, a gas fountain ignited, which was formed as a result of the release of a gas-water mixture.

A little more than a month later, around the fire, it was decided to drill inclined wells to a depth of 1000-1200 meters, where the concrete solution would be poured.

A blowout from a gas well in Mangistau at the field resulted in a huge methane leak, a sign of the risks of fossil fuel exploration, scientists say.

Environmentalists said that there are no risks for people near the Karaturun Yuzhny field in the Mangistau region, where well No. 303 is on fire.