Ministry of national economy of Kazakhstan expects the implementation of the oil production expansion project at the Tengiz field to begin in spring 2016, head of the ministry Erbolat Dosayev said, Novosti-Kazakhstan news agency reported.
Tengiz is located on the 2,500 square kilometer (1,600 square mile) project license area which includes the giant Tengiz field, and a smaller but sizable Korolev field and several exploratory prospects.
Tengiz field is one of the world's deepest developed giant oil fields, with the top of the reservoir at about 4,000 meters (13,000 feet).
"There is a direct assignment of the head of state to accelerate the process of starting the project implementation ...," said Dosayev, answering the questions of MPs within the governmental hour in Majilis (Kazakh parliament). "We will start to implement the project already in spring 2016."
"Today the necessary project documentation and so on... agreements, approvals are being prepared, but we want to start implementation of this project as soon as possible," he said.
"The project of the future development of the Tengizchevroil is very important, because it involves a huge amount of direct investments, the preliminary cost of which is almost $30 billion," the minister said.
Tengizchevroil was formed between the Republic of Kazakhstan and Chevron Corporation in 1993 to explore and develop Tengiz oilfield. The shareholders of Tengizchevroil are KazMunaiGas national oil and gas company of Kazakhstan (20 percent), Chevron Overseas (50 percent), ExxonMobil (25 percent) and LukArko (five percent).
"Now the ministry of energy together with the consortium and Chevron carry out this work, and when it's over, it will become the very additional source of direct investment that we need," Dosayev said.
Previously, investments volume in the project was estimated at $38 billion.