* TCO reports an incident at Tengiz on March 11; no
injuries
* Field has not halted output, sources say
* Tengiz was already pumping lower levels after January
18 fires
* Recovery limited by CPC loading constraints
(Combines reports, adds detail throughout)
ALMATY, March 13 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan's Tengizchevroil
consortium said on Friday it was checking the cause of a March
11 "incident" at the country's largest oilfield of Tengiz that
caused no injuries, while sources said the field had not stopped
production.
The oilfield at the northeastern tip of the Caspian Sea had
been pumping oil at lower levels after fires at power stations
on January 18, boosting uncertainty on global markets battling
constricted supplies because of the US-Israel war on Iran.
"The company is assessing the root cause in line with
established processes," said TCO, operated by the U.S. oil major
Chevron ( CVX ), as it confirmed the incident at one of its
facilities at Tengiz, and added that there were no injuries.
"Beyond this, TCO does not comment on specific details of
its operations," it said in a statement.
Oil output at Tengiz rose to 810,000 barrels on March 11,
but had averaged 495,000 barrels per day (bpd) over the first 10
days of this month, lagging the capacity target, two industry
sources said on Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Output recovery at Tengiz is capped by loading constraints
such as adverse weather and the threat of drone attacks on the
main export route, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) system.
Oil production at the Tengiz field had recovered to 120,000
tons per day, or the equivalent of 955,000 bpd, Kazakhstan's
Energy Minister Erlan Akkenzhenov told reporters on Wednesday.