Astana, 26 Jun /Agerpres/ - The CEO of KazMunayGas (KMG), Sauat Mynbayev, and his ENI counterpart, Claudio Descalzi, signed on Thursday an agreement to renew the conditions for the transfer to Eni of 50% of the subsoil utilization rights for the exploration and production of hydrocarbons at the Isatay field of the Caspian Sea, according to a press release of the Italian group.
This field, which is estimated to hold significant potential hydrocarbon resources, will be operated by a joint venture between Eni and KMG. The operations of this joint venture will start immediately after the transfer of the 50% of the rights, provided the transaction is endorsed by the Kazakh authorities.
Furthermore, Eni and KazMunayGas EP, a KMG subsidiary, signed an agreement to extend technological cooperation in the upstream sector and to assess potential avenues for mutual development of new projects. The agreement also includes a technical and managerial training program for the KMG EP staff.
Again of Thursday, Eni signed a cooperation agreement with General Electric (GE) and the Kazakh Minister of Energy, Kanat Bozumbayev, in order to promote renewable energy projects in Kazakhstan. According to this agreement, Eni and GE will assess whether to build a windfarm with a capacity of around 500 MW and will identify further initiatives to reach the strategic objectives of Kazakhstan in the field of sustainable development.
All the agreements signed at the Council of Foreign Investors in Astana will further expand the Eni presence in Kazakhstan and will reinforce the strategic alliance with KazMunayGas in the upstream sector.
Astana will host, until September 10th, the international exhibition EXPO Astana 2017 focusing on 'Future Energy', which will be attended, according to the organizers, by more than 5 million visitors worldwide.
Astana was designated in 2012 as a host for this event by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE). EXPO Astana 2017 will be attended by exhibitors from 115 countries, including China, USA and Russia.
This event was organized along the lines of the 2008 Zaragoza exhibition and precedes the 2020 Dubai universal exhibition, which will last for 6 months, similarly with exhibitions such as Sevilla 1992 or Milan 2015.
AGERPRES/ (AS-author: Constantin Balaban, editor: Nicoleta Gherasi)