Oil production at Caspian sea shelf may be increased to 150-200 m tons a year

/Kazakhstan today, December 19, 02/ - "the revealed forecasted resources of hydrocarbons allow in the future to increase oil production at the shelf of Caspian sea to 150-200 m tons a year". About this today, December 19 in Almaty at the conference "Oil and gas resources of Caspian region in global relations system" was stated by the chief of oil industry department of the Ministry of energy and mineral resources of Kazakhstan Aidar Demeu. According to Demeu's data, "initial reserves of Kashagan field equal to 1.7 bn tons. This data has been officially confirmed and increase of production at the field by 2005 will be equal to about 0.5 m tons, in 2010 we expect 22 m tons and in 2015 - 60 m tons a year. It is expected that on other blocks of the first stage by 2015 according to preliminary estimations, production level of Kazakhstan sector of Caspian sea will equal to about 100 m tons". "Perspectives of development of Kazakhstan sector of Caspian sea, - according to Demeu's words, - are confirmed by the first results of exploration and estimation drilling. All 6 wells, which were made within the framework of North- Caspian project, turned out to be productive". [2002-12-19]