the good news is that it's only 10%. the other good news is that it will almost certainly never be 100% unless the quality of education and living standard in Kazakhstan increases dramatically. while there is a lot of valuable stuff there, it is a complex reservoir that requires some technology and infrastructure to monetize.
snippets from 2003 AAPG Memoir 78, p. 237– 250
"Karachaganak was discovered in 1979, with the drilling of stratigraphic well P-10, and was placed on pilot production in October 1984. The hydrocarbons initially in place, consisting of 1.236 billion tons (9.7 billion bbl) of liquids and 1.371 trillion m3 (48.4 tcf) of gas, were formally reviewed and approved by the Republic of Kazakhstan in May 1999. Together, these give total in-place hydrocarbons of 17.78 billion BOE for Karachaganak."
"Fluid Composition and Model
The complex fluid system at Karachaganak field consists of a rich gas-condensate lying above volatile oil and is categorized as a retrograde gas-condensate. For the given depth interval of 3500–5150 m subsea (mss), reservoir temperatures are relatively cool, ranging from 70 to 90 C (158–194 F), and initial reservoir pressures range from 51.5 to 59.5 MPa (7469–8630 psi).
Karachaganak liquids belong to the methane-naphthene hydrocarbon group. The condensates contain high paraffin (1–5%), asphaltene (0.1–0.3%), resins (1.0–1.7%), and sulfur (0.6–2.2%), including mercaptans (0.1–0.25%). On average, the oils also contain high paraffin (3.6–5.1%), asphaltene-resins (2.0–4.4%), and sulfur (0.5–2.0%), including mercaptans (0.2%). The gas is sour, with H2S content averaging 3.5%, mercaptan content averaging 0.07%, and CO2 content averaging 5.5%."
"Karachaganak has a large number of development options and challenges because of remoteness of the location, size of the reservoir, and fluid composition (Hsu et al., 2000). The location of the field far from Western markets presents perhaps the largest challenge."
"Karachaganak is a giant retrograde gas-condensateoil reservoir with a 1650-m hydrocarbon column and in-place hydrocarbons of 17.78 billion BOE (9.7 billion bbl of liquids and 48.4 tcf gas)....
An ongoing workover program has restored previously declining production to historic maximum levels. Recent daily production averaged 230,571 BOE. The sanctioned optimization plan calls for a partial depletion and enhanced gravity-drainage strategy that involves partial pressure maintenance through gas recycling and development of the oil rim using horizontal wells. The current full-expansion development plan includes the workover of 81 wells and the drilling of 161 new wells from surface. These wells could allow maximum daily production to exceed 735,000 BOE."
