ONGC gets project operator's nod for $ 5 bn Kashagan stake buy
of UK, ExxonMobil, Shell, Total and Kazakh government with 14.28 per cent stake each. BP had 9.52 per cent and Norway's Statoil 4.76 per cent.
Inpex of Japan and ConocoPhillips entered the consortium in 1998, purchasing Kazakhstan's 14.28 per cent share.
In 2001, when Total agreed to buy BP and Statoil's stakes, all other partners exercised their pre-emption rights and the stake was equally split among them. Subsequently, the shareholding in the project was -- BG, Eni-Agip, ExxonMobil, Shell and Total (16.67 per cent each), ConocoPhillips and Inpex (8.33 per cent each).
Then again in 2003, when BG agreed to sell its 16.67 per cent interest to Chinese state duo Sinopec and China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC), the pre- emption rights were exercised. Kazakhstan purchased half (8.33 per cent) of BG's share while other consortium members shared the remaining.
In 2008, a new contract was signed wherein KMG's share was doubled from 8.33 per cent to 16.66 per cent with other partners taking proportionate cuts.
Under Kazakh law, KMG would have the first option to purchase Conoco's stake and in October the company had publicly expressed interest in Conoco's holding. After years of delay and at a total cost of more than USD 40 billion, Kashagan is due to begin production in second quarter of 2012, sources said.
Kashagan holds 33 billion barrels of inplace oil reserves, of which about 10 billion are potentially recoverable. Of this, OVL's share will be 842 million barrels.
The Kazakhstan government has
Be the first to comment.
