Kazakhstan, Astana, June 16 /Trend, A.Maratov/
Kazakhstan has acquired a 10 percent share in the Karachaganak field project development. The agreement in this regard was signed today in Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan purchased five percent of the shares with money, and five percent due to tax claims against the operating company Karachaganak Petroleum Operating (KPO).
Karachaganak with reserves of 1.2 billion tons of oil and condensate and more than 1.35 trillion cubic meters of gas is one of the largest operating oil and gas fields in the world. The Karachaganak field produces about 49 percent of all gas and 18 percent of all oil production in Kazakhstan.
Karachaganak Petroleum Operating (KPO) is a consortium of companies joined together to implement the Karachaganak project. The consortium includes BG Group, Eni, the share of each of which is 32.5 percent, and Chevron - 20 percent and Lukoil - 15 percent.
However, Kazakh Oil and Gas Minister Sauat Mynbayev said earlier that it is likely that the government will suspend expansion of the Karachaganak project if it does not agree with the project shareholders.
"The third phase of the development will not be conducted without agreeing. The project will be frozen," Mynbayev told journalists. "The third phase is to increase the level of fees and production levels."