Kazakhstan calls for shared control of field
Kazakhstan called on Eni SpA and partners to cede some control over the Kashagan field after failing to meet cost targets and production deadlines at the biggest oil discovery in more than three decades.
KazMunaiGaz, the state energy company, must become a co-operator in the project with Eni, Prime Minister Karim Masimov said yesterday.
Eni, Exxon Mobil Corp, Total SA and Shell all hold 18.5 percent of Kashagan, while ConocoPhillips has 9.3 percent. Kazakhstan's national oil company, KazMunaiGaz National Co, and Japan's Inpex Corp each own 8.3 percent.
Economic damage to Kazakhstan from delays and overruns will be at least $10 billion, Kazakh Deputy Finance Minister Daulet Ergozhin said.
The government may replace Eni as operator if the company can't contain costs and avoid further delays to the start of production, now slated for 2010, Masimov said yesterday.
Bloomberg News
(China Daily 09/07/2007 page16)
