Kazakhstan cuts output at giant oil field after Ukrainian strike on Russian processing plant

Kyiv struck the Orenburg plant on June 24, about 1,700 kilometers east of Ukraine.

According to Reuters, oil and gas production at the Karachaganak field is closely linked, meaning the field cannot produce large volumes of oil if gas output is reduced.

Gas from Karachaganak, whose shareholders include Chevron and Shell, is typically sent across the border to the processing plant in Orenburg.

If Karachaganak has to cut gas production because the Orenburg gas processing plant cannot handle it, the field must also reduce oil production, Reuters reported.

Kazakh Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov said on June 26 that production at the Karachaganak field had been reduced.

“Production continues today. The current restrictions are linked to previous circumstances,” said Askhat Khassenov, head of Kazakhstan’s state oil company KazMunayGas.

According to him, output at the field has recovered to 28,000 tons per day, below the 31,000 tons produced before the drone attack.

The Karachaganak oil, gas and condensate field is one of the largest in the world, with estimated oil reserves of 1.2 billion tons and gas reserves of 1.35 trillion cubic meters.

As previously reported, Ukrainian drones struck the Orenburg gas processing plant overnight into June 24.

Gazprom Pererabotka operates the Orenburg plant, where gas is processed into commercial gas, sulfur, gas condensate and other products.

On May 12, 2026, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s Defense Forces had successfully struck Russian gas industry facilities in the Orenburg region, more than 1,500 kilometers from the border.