ConocoPhillips Operating Chief:10 Yrs To Develop Kazakh Block N
Oil, Gas
By Brian Baskin, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Oil and gas reserves within Kazakhstan's Block N will
take 10 years to explore and develop, ConocoPhillips Inc. (COP) Chief Operating
Officer John Carrig said Tuesday.
ConocoPhillips has said it will drill its first well in late 2010. Carrig
declined to go into specifics about the schedule for production out of Block N.
Block N, or the Nursultan Block, in the Caspian Sea is estimated to contain
270 million tons, or about two billion barrels, of recoverable resources,
according to a statement last year by Kairgeldy Kabyldin, chief executive of
KazMunaiGas, the Kazakh state oil company.
The block is 51% owned by KazMunaiGas, with ConocoPhillips splitting the
remaining share with Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Development Company.
The economic downturn and sharp drop in oil prices have forced cutbacks and
delays in major oil projects worldwide. However, the ConocoPhillips executive's
timeframe roughly confirms a statement by Kablydin last year that production
would begin out of Block N in 2016. None of the block's owners have given
estimates for levels of commercial production.
ConocoPhillips shares recently rose 12 cents to $52.50.
-By Brian Baskin, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2453; brian.baskin@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
11-24-091549ET
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