The consortium of oil companies developing the Kashagan field is looking to further delay the start of production from the huge Caspian Sea deposit to 2012 or 2013, said Kazakh Energy Minister Sauat Mynbayev.
'If there are delays, we will have to agree on the imposition of specific penalties... This is why we will once again try to reach an agreement (between us),' he said following a cabinet meeting.
Kashagan, which has been plagued by delays and cost overruns, had initially been due to come on stream in 2005. By early this year the scheduled start date had slipped back to 2011.
The main Western partners of the consortium - Eni, Total, ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell - each hold 16.81 pct, as does Kazakh state-run energy company KazMunaiGaz.
In January, an east-west standoff over the project's development was resolved with KazMunaiGaz doubling its stake and the four western partners cutting theirs. Additionally, Eni agreed to relinquish operational control of the field once production starts.
ConocoPhillips and Japan's Inpex hold smaller stakes in the project.
Kashagan is thought to be the largest oilfield discovered anywhere since the 1960s, with an estimated 13 bln barrels of recoverable reserves.
Source: Forbes
