Eyeing Caspian riches: Trio sign pact for offshore block.
Trio sign deal on Kazakh block
US supermajor ConocoPhillips, Kazakhstan state-run KazMunaiGaz and Abu Dhabi-owned Mubadala have signed deals to jointly explore and develop the Nursultan Block off the coast Kazakhstan.
KazMunaiGaz will hold a 51% interest while the remaining 49% will be split equally between ConocoPhillips and Mubadala.
The project will be operated by a Kazakh subsidiary, which will be jointly owned by the companies.
The Nursultan Block is 30 kilometres (19 miles) south-southwest offshore Aktau in the Caspian Sea.
The block covers about 8100 square kilometres and is estimated to hold 270 million tonnes (2.13 billion barrels) of oil in recoverable reserves.
ConocoPhillips and Mubadala signed a preliminary agreement last October, and then paid Kazakhstan a $100 million signing bonus a few months later, according to a Reuters report.
KazMunaiGas boss Kairgeldy Kabyldin said in December they planned to launch commercial production in 2016 if all reserve estimates were confirmed, and that foreign partners would finance all exploration costs.