Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct. 2 / Trend E. Kosolapova/
Kazakhstan approved the cost of Tengiz oil field expansion project at $23 billion, Novosti-Kazakhstan reported with the reference to Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Kazakh National Oil and Gas company KazMunaiGas Kurmangazi Iskaziyev.
According to Iskaziyev, the project will be completed in the middle 2018.
The expansion project will increase the capacity at the Tengiz field from 26 million to 38 million tons of oil a year.
The Tengiz field, opened in 1979 in the west of Kazakhstan, is one of the deepest and largest oil fields in the world. Total estimated reserves amount to three billion tons (26 billion barrels).
Tengiz field is operated by the Tengizchevroil consortium (TCO), a joint venture established in April 1993 based on an agreement signed between the Kazakh government and Chevron.
Tengizchevroil partners are Chevron - 50 per cent, KMG - 20 per cent, ExxonMobil - 25 per cent and LukArko - five per cent.