A giant beneath the steppe

A new oil processing plant at Tengiz, part of a multibillion-dollar expansion that has increased the oil field’s capacity, near the Caspian Sea in Kazakhstan. — Desire van den Berg/The New Times

MORE than 3.2km beneath the wind-swept steppe of western Kazakhstan, porous rock formed from the skeletons of ancient coral and marine life holds one of the world’s most prolific oil deposits.

Tengiz, as the field is known, has been producing oil for more than three decades, underpinning Kazakhstan’s rise as Central Asia’s largest economy.