Kazakhstan, Astana, April 5 / Trend D. Mukhtarov /
Kazakhstan intends to get first oil from the Kashagan field by late 2012, head of the Sovereign Wealth Fund Samruk-Kazyna Umirzak Shukeyev said on Thursday.
"Until the end of this year, we should get first oil," he said. "There is an unambiguous position in this regard."
Earlier, the date of launching oil production was repeatedly postponed.
He added thatconstructive negotiations with the consortium are underway. All current issues have been resolved. The process is controlled by the Kazakh Oil and Gas Ministry.
Kashagan is a super giant gas field in Kazakhstan located in northern Caspian Sea. According to Kazakh geologists, the reserves are estimated at 4.8 billion tons of oil.
Kashagan project partner-companies are Eni, KMG Kashagan BV, Total, ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell having approximately 16.81 percent stake, ConocoPhillips - 8,4 percent, and Inpex - 7,56 percent. The project is being developed by thNCOC consortium.
Samruk-Kazyna head Umirzak Shukeyev also said KazMunaiGas produced 3.5 million tons of oil in January-February.
The decline in production by 3 percent is connected with the cold winter.