ALMATY, Kazakhstan (Dow Jones)--Kazakh Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sauat Mynbayev said Friday that Kazakh state oil and gas company KazMunaiGas and India's ONGC Mittal Energy were to sign final agreements to start exploration of Satpayev oil block in the Caspian Sea.
"We have resolved all preliminary issues on the Satpayev block," Mynbayev said in a report posted on the government Web site. "Final documents on the block are now to be signed."
ONGC Mittal Energy is a joint venture between ONGC Videsh Ltd., part of Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (500312.BY), and Mittal Investments Sarl.
Mynbayev said the Indian company was taking on all the risks and financing associated with Satpayev.
An initial agreement on the 1,582-square-kilometer block in north Caspian Sea was signed in January during Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev's visit to India.