Business
Kazakhstan: Italian energy giant signs new oil and gas deal
Rome, 6 Nov. (AKI) - Italian energy giant ENI is looking for new opportunities to explore and develop the vast oil and gas resources of Kazakhstan. The company's chief executive, Paolo Scaroni, on Thursday signed a new accord with Kairgeldy Kabyldin, president of the country's major gas utility, KazMunayGas, in Rome.
The deal was one of 13 commercial agreements backed by the president of Kazakhstan, Nursaltan Nazarbayev, and Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, during a state visit to Italy by the leader of the central Asian country.
President Nazarbayev said the new agreements would result in bilateral investment totalling 6 billion dollars.
The new accord between the two energy producers foreshadows exploration and production activities and strategic industrial facilities in Kazakhstan.
Under the agreement, which followed a preliminary memorandum of understanding signed in July 2009, Eni and KazMunayGas (KMG) will jointly study the Isatay and Chagala exploration areas located in the Caspian Sea (photo).
Chagala, in the northeast of the Caspian Sea, is close to the vast offshore Kashagan field and directly west of the Tengiz field.
Eni and KMG are looking at a number of industrial initiatives including a gas sweetening plant, a gas turbine power plant, a drydock shipyard and the upgrading of the Pavlodar refinery, the largest in the country.
In a statement ENI said that final investment decisions on all projects were expected within two years after the completion of detailed technical and commercial studies.
ENI is expected to further strengthen its presence in Kazakhstan, where it jointly operates the Karachaganak field and is an equity partner in the Kashagan field.
ENI is one of seven major international oil companies, including ExxonMobile, Total, Shell and ConocoPhillips, that are currently developing the vast Kashagan oil field in the northern Caspian Sea.
The Kashagan oil field is a complex industrial project - the largest oil discovery since Prudhoe Bay in Alaska 40 years ago.
With almost 35 billion barrels of oil in place, it is expected to produce 1.5 million barrels per day when fully operational.
When completed Kashagan is expected to provide 10 percent of Europe's daily energy demand.
Bilateral trade between Italy and Kazakhstan is currently estimated to be worth 13 billion euros a year.
The deal was one of 13 commercial agreements backed by the president of Kazakhstan, Nursaltan Nazarbayev, and Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, during a state visit to Italy by the leader of the central Asian country.
President Nazarbayev said the new agreements would result in bilateral investment totalling 6 billion dollars.
The new accord between the two energy producers foreshadows exploration and production activities and strategic industrial facilities in Kazakhstan.
Under the agreement, which followed a preliminary memorandum of understanding signed in July 2009, Eni and KazMunayGas (KMG) will jointly study the Isatay and Chagala exploration areas located in the Caspian Sea (photo).
Chagala, in the northeast of the Caspian Sea, is close to the vast offshore Kashagan field and directly west of the Tengiz field.
Eni and KMG are looking at a number of industrial initiatives including a gas sweetening plant, a gas turbine power plant, a drydock shipyard and the upgrading of the Pavlodar refinery, the largest in the country.
In a statement ENI said that final investment decisions on all projects were expected within two years after the completion of detailed technical and commercial studies.
ENI is expected to further strengthen its presence in Kazakhstan, where it jointly operates the Karachaganak field and is an equity partner in the Kashagan field.
ENI is one of seven major international oil companies, including ExxonMobile, Total, Shell and ConocoPhillips, that are currently developing the vast Kashagan oil field in the northern Caspian Sea.
The Kashagan oil field is a complex industrial project - the largest oil discovery since Prudhoe Bay in Alaska 40 years ago.
With almost 35 billion barrels of oil in place, it is expected to produce 1.5 million barrels per day when fully operational.
When completed Kashagan is expected to provide 10 percent of Europe's daily energy demand.
Bilateral trade between Italy and Kazakhstan is currently estimated to be worth 13 billion euros a year.
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