Oil production in Kazakhstan plummeted by around a fifth on July 4 to 1.46 million barrels per day from July 2, after the widespread power outages, official data from an analytical centre at the energy ministry showed on Wednesday.

Oil refining volumes fell by 46% on July 4 to 20,200 tonnes from 37,300 tonnes on July 2, according to the data.

A source familiar with the statistics also said that oil production at Kazakhstan’s Kashagan oilfield halved on July 4 from average June’s level to 22,082 tonnes (175,045 barrels per day).

Dealing with the power outages, theCaspian Pipeline Consortium, which exports oil via a Russian Black Sea terminal, has stopped three pumping stations in western Kazakhstan.

The Kazakh government said separately that the offline unit at the Mangystau power plant, whose outage caused a region-wide blackout on Monday, would be restarted by July 7.

At a government meeting on Tuesday, Dauletzhan Khasanov, deputy chief executive of state oil company KazMunayGaz KMGZ.KZ, said the Atyrau oil refinery, affected by the blackout, planned to fully restore output by the end of the week.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Reuters; writing by Vladimir Soldatkin and Louise Heavens)