/IRBIS, Dec.6, 00/ - REUTERS informed that TotalFinaElf, French oil company that supports Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran pipe-line project plans to become main drilling operator of OKIOC consortium on the Northern part of Caspian Sea.

The representatives of the company claimed that discovery of Kashagan oil field was one of the major event in the oil world for last thirty years. He also noted that it will be biggest adventure of the twenty first century.

It was reported that the company has all production and financial facilities to become major drilling operator.

Other candidates for the project are ExxonMobil and Shell.

The Kashagan field could become the biggest oil reserve in the world. The evaluation drilling did not yet give exact estimates, whereas Kazakhstan government already announced the preliminary figure of 7 bln tons.

The government reported that preliminary voting will be held in mid December, while final selection in January of 2001. That time, OKIOC participants would select from two candidates that took major part of votes in December. The company should collect 70% of votes to become the operator.

TotalFinaElf still insists that the Southern direction of oil transporting is most profitable.

At present, TotalFinaElf has about $1 bln in Kazakhstan.