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ASTANA – Kazakhstan will not opt to purchase shares of BG Group in the Karachaganak Petroleum Operating (KPO) consortium, Kazakh national company KazMunayGas head Sauat Mynbayev said on March 17 in Astana.

The merger of the Anglo-Dutch oil and gas giant Royal Dutch Shell and of the British oil company BG Group was completed in February of this year.

As reported, according to the laws of Kazakhstan, after the completion of this deal government of Kazakhstan can opt to purchase shares of BG Group in the Karachaganak field. “No, we will not opt to purchase shares of BG, Shell is a potential buyer,” Mynbayev said at the briefing, responding to a question of journalists.

Karachaganak field is controlled by a group of investors, which, in addition to the BG Group, include ENI (29,25%), Chevron (18%), LUKoil (13.5%) and KazMunaiGas (10%).

As noted on the website BG Group, As noted on the website BG Group, production at the field is conducted at the highest level and is about 45% of the total gas production in Kazakhstan and 16% liquid hydrocarbons.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Karachaganak field is about 15% of the total production of BG Group and 9% of its revenues in 2014 in the amount of $19 billion.

The Karachaganak field, discovered in 1979, is one of the world’s largest gas and condensate fields. Located in north-west Kazakhstan and covering an area of over 280 square kilometres, it holds estimated hydrocarbons initially in place (HIIP) of 9 billion barrels of condensate and 48 trillion cubic feet of gas, with estimated gross reserves of over 2.4 billion barrels of condensate and 16 trillion cubic feet of gas.

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