Eni ready for Kashagan talks

A multinational consortium led by Italy's Eni is preparing for talks with the Kazakh government on the future development of the giant Kashagan oilfield, said chief executive of Eni.

Kazakhstan has said it wanted a bigger share of revenues from the world's biggest oilfield discovery in 30 years in compensation for delays in pumping the first oil from the Caspian Sea wells and threatened to strip Eni of its role as project operator. The much-awaited talks with the Kazakh government were delayed by parliament elections in the Central Asian state and would start before the end of August.

Kashagan's original start-up has been delayed from an original target of 2005 to the second half of 2010. The Kazakh government says projected costs over its 40-year life have increased to $136 billion from $57 billion. Meanwhile the consortium which also includes ExxonMobil, France's Total Royal Dutch, ConocoPhillips and Japan's Inpex has kept the Kazakh oil company KazMunaiGas informed about the project delays and increasing costs.

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