Kazakh oilfield back to normal after mass brawl

ALMATY, Oct 23 (Reuters) Business was back to normal at a giant Kazakh oil field following a mass brawl late last week, the joint venture developing the deposit said today.

Media reported that up to 140 people were injured in the fight between Kazakh and Turkish workers at the onshore Tengiz oil field in western Kazakhstan, apparently triggered when a Kazakh worker tried to jump the queue in a canteen.

Tengizchevroil, a joint venture led by US oil major Chevron, said its business was not affected.

''A number of construction offices, vehicles and other facilities were damaged during the incident. All base operations remained fully operational as well as all other project sites,'' it said in a statement.

It said a number of people had to be flown to Turkey for medical treatement.

Other shareholders in Tengiz are ExxonMobil with 25 per cent, Kazakh state firm KazMunaiGas with 20 per cent and a venture between BP and LUKOIL with five percent.

Tengiz is one of the world's biggest oilfields. Its recoverable reserves amount to around 1.3 billion tonnes of oil.

REUTERS MQA HT1909