From: Justin Burke (JBurke@sorosny.org)
Date: Fri Mar 10 2000 - 11:45:42 EST
OKIOC TO COMPLETE FIRST WELL ON CASPIAN SHELF BY MONTH-END
ATYRAU. March 10 (Interfax-Kazakhstan) - Offshore Kazakhstan
International Operating Company (OKIOC), the multinational consortium
exploring for oil on Kazakhstan's Caspian shelf, will complete drilling
a first test well by the end of March.
OKIOC expects to drill into the productive horizon in the next few
days, Production Manager Paul Jeffrey said at a briefing in Atyrau.
OKIOC began drilling at the East Kashagan structure in August 1999.
The well is to be drilled to a depth of 4,500 meters. The productive
horizon is roughly 500 meters thick.
OKIOC was formed in September 1998 to explore the Caspian shelf
under a production-sharing agreement signed in Washington in November
1997. Italy's Agip, British Gas, Shell, a BP/Statoil alliance, Mobil,
Total, and Kazakhstan's KazakhCaspiShelf founded the consortium, each
with a one-seventh interest. KazakhCaspiShelf sold its stake to Inpex
Nord Ltd. of Japan and Phillips Petroleum of the U.S. for $500 million
in the fall of 1998.
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