Kazakhstan on Tuesday told Italy's Eni that delays and cost inflation at the huge Kashagan oil development would stymie the Central Asian republic's economic growth. ( FT )
Paolo Scaroni, chief executive of Eni, the operator of the consortium developing Kashagan, met Karim Massimov, the Kazakh prime minister, and Sauat Mynbaev, the energy minister, in Astana to discuss the government's demand for improved contract terms. The Kazakh government is seeking compensation for a two-year delay to production and a doubling of costs of the first phase of the Kashagan project.
Kazakhstan is dissatisfied with Eni's management of Kashagan, which lies at the heart of the republic's plans to triple oil production within the decade.