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Minister: ConocoPhillips has not notified Kazakhstan about intent to sell its share in Kashagan

Oil&Gas Materials 27 November 2012 11:37 (UTC +04:00)
U.S. ConocoPhillips has not notified government authorities in Kazakhstan about the intent to sell it’s a 8.4-percent share in Kashagan project to ONGC Videsh Limited
Minister: ConocoPhillips has not notified Kazakhstan about intent to sell its share in Kashagan

Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 27 / Trend E. Kosolapova/

U.S. ConocoPhillips has not notified government authorities in Kazakhstan about the intent to sell it's a 8.4-percent share in Kashagan project to ONGC Videsh Limited, Novosti-Kazakhstan quoted Kazakh Oil and Gas Sauat Mynbayev as saying.

"ConocoPhillips has not made official proposal to the commission. When the proposal is made the special commission will consider the matter...Informally, we know that ConocoPhillips is in talks with ONGC. We do not know if they have agreed or not," Mynbayev said on Tuesday on the sidelines of the government meeting in Astana.

Moreover, Mynbayev recalled that Kazakhstan has "the priority right to buy the share."
"The Commission will make decision whether the country will take this advantage or not. Moreover, the other shareholders have the same priority right on the share acquisition, so the issue [of ConocoPhillips' share sale] is still open," the Minister said.

He said the Commission may consider the issue within two months.

Earlier ConocoPhillips said it had notified government authorities in Kazakhstan and its co-venturers of the company's intent to sell its 8.4 percent interest in Kashagan project to Indian ONGC Videsh Limited.

Kashagan is one of the largest fields discovered in the past 40 years. According to analysts. Kashagan has the potential to unite the top five largest oil companies in the world. Kazakh geologists estimate geological oil reserves at 4.8 billion tons. According to the project operator, total oil reserves are 38 billion barrels (six billion tons), with a recoverable volume of about 10 billion barrels. Natural gas reserves are estimated at over one trillion cubic meters.

The companies, develop the project, are planning to begin commercial production on Kashagan in the first quarter of 2013.

At present the Kashagan project participants are Eni, Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobil, Total and KazMunaiGas, which owns equal shares (16.81 per cent), as well as ConocoPhillips - 8.4 per cent and Japan's Inpex - 7.55 per cent.

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