Commercial production at the N Block, an offshore field in the Caspian Sea, is planned to start in 2016, the chief executive of Kazakh state oil and gas company KazMunaiGas said Friday.
CEO Kairgeldy Kabyldin told reporters after a signing ceremony on principles of joint exploration and production of the block by ConocoPhillips (COP) and Mubadala Development Company that the foreign partners would pay $100 million as signature bonus and would finance costs associated with exploration. ConocoPhillips and Mubadala will jointly own 49% in the project, Kabyldin said.
The N Block is located 30 kilometers south southwest offshore the Caspian town of Aktau. The block covers approximately 8,100 square kilometers.
It is estimated to hold reserves of 630 million metric tons of oil equivalent, Kabyldin said. The field's recoverable reserves are estimated to stand at 270 million tons.
Kabyldin said it was too early to state levels of commercial production at the block.
KazMunaiGas, ConocoPhillips and Mubadala expect to finalize the agreement on the N Block in January.