Kazakhstan's government and a consortium of Western oil companies have
moved closer towards settling their dispute over the Kashagan oil
project the Interfax news agency reported over the weekend, citing a
Kazakh government source.
The consortium developing Kashagan, led by Italian oil and
gas company Eni SpA, has disagreements with the government of
Kazakhstan over the costs overruns and delays to start the production
of the massive offshore Caspian Sea oil field.
KazMunaiGas owns a 8.3% in the development
consortium, while Eni, the field's sole operator, holds an 18.5% stake
in the consortium.
ExxonMobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Total SA each hold 18.5% stakes in the venture.
ConocoPhillips holds 9.3% while Japan's Inpex own 8.3%.
According to the source quoted by Interfax, the consortium's
participants are expected to submit their proposals over the disputed
issues to the Kazakh government by Nov. 30.