A consortium developing Kazakhstan's giant Kashagan oil field has resumed production after an industrial accident halted work last month, the Kazakh Oil and Gas Ministry and the consortium said Monday.
Work at the offshore field, one of the world's biggest oil finds in decades, stopped on Sept. 25 after a gas leak was detected, but the ministry said in a statement that it started again "without complications" on Oct. 6.
The field's developer, the North Caspian Operating Company, said "all operations were conducted under strict procedures and in line with national and international safety rules."
Kashagan, a high-pressure oil field in the Caspian Sea off western Kazakhstan, only launched output on Sept. 11. It had taken about 13 years and some $50 billion to produce the first oil.