Italian oil company Eni and Kazakh´s KazMunayGas signed on June 22, 2017, an agreement which renews the conditions for the transfer to Eni of 50% of the subsoil use rights in the Isatay block, in the Caspian Sea off Kazakhstan, for exploration and production of hydrocarbons.
To recall, almost 2 years ago, in June 2015, KazMunayGas and Eni made an agreement defining the commercial terms of the transfer to Eni of 50% of the subsoil use rights in the Isatay.
The new agreement which renews the conditions was signed on Thursday by KMG CEO, Sauat Mynbayev, and Eni’s CEO, Claudio Descalzi, in Astana, Kazakhstan.
The block, which is estimated to have significant potential for hydrocarbon resources, will be operated by a Joint Operating Company (JOC) formed by Eni and KMG.
The JOC will begin working as soon as the transfer of 50% interest in the license is completed, subject to the approval of the transaction by the country’s government.
Furthermore, on Wednesday, Eni had signed a cooperation agreement with General Electric and the Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan, Kanat Bozumbayev, to promote the development of renewable energy projects in the country.
Along with the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan, together with KMG and the Kazakh Committee of geology and subsoil use, Eni signed a Memorandum of Understanding to evaluate future cooperation terms in the Kazakh-Russian Pre-Caspian Basin where numerous discoveries of oil fields of considerable size have been carried out.
The signing of this MoU is part of the Eurasia project promoted by the Ministry of Energy in order to study the depth exploration potential of the basin.
In Kazakhstan, Eni is joint operator of the Karachaganak field as well as being an equity partner in various projects in the Northern Caspian Sea, including the giant Kashagan field.
