Credit crunch 'cuts Kashagan costs'
The AgipKCO consortium, which is developing Kashagan, said today that the global economic crisis may help reduce some of the costs associated with developing the Caspian Sea field.
The world's biggest oil find in the last 30 years, Kashagan was long at the centre of a bitter row between the Kazakh government and the Western consortium over cost overruns.
The oilfield, in the north-east of the Caspian Sea, is now due to come onstream in 2012. The current cost is $136 billion.
The AgipKCO consortium consists of Eni, Shell, ExxonMobil, Total, ConocoPhillips, KazMunaiGaz and Inpex Holdings.
In a joint statement, KazMunaiGas oil company and the Western consortium said existing contracts would be adjusted to reflect a new economic environment but gave no specific figures.
"The global economic crisis has had a substantial impact on the global market and that will certainly affect corresponding obligations held by project participants," the statement said.
"That is why, within the framework of this initiative, necessary efforts will be made to adjust existing contracts in accordance to new conditions. These circumstances will be taken into account during further talks and discussions on future contracts."
The statement added that the process would help Kazakhstan and Kashagan members "substantially cut costs" while continuing to develop the field in line with an earlier schedule.
Participants had earlier said the global crisis would not hinder Kashagan's development, a Reuters report said.
The project is due to eventually double Kazakhstan's oil output to about 3 million barrels per day, and is key to the Central Asian nation's ambitions to become a major global oil exporter.