ASTANA, March 26. /TASS/. The project for future expansion of the oil and gas field Tengiz in Kazakhstan is planned to be implemented at the end of 2024, Minister of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan Almassadam Satkaliyev told reporters.

"Completion [of the expansion project] is planned at the end of this year," he said.

"The reasons behind the delay of the [expansion] project’s implementation are external and related to ensuring the quality of the work, to safety of the works carried out," Satkaliyev added.

The Tengiz oil and gas field is one of the largest in the republic, with oil reserves standing at 3.2 bln tons. Tengizchevroil (TCO) is involved in the development of the field.

Earlier reports said that TCO implemented the Tengiz Future Growth Project (FGP) and Wellhead Pressure Management Project (WPMP) totally worth $46.7 bln.

It was planned to complete the project at the end of 2022, though due to the schedule delay the term has postponed to 2024. The project will allow boosting TCO’s production by 12 mln tons per year.