KazMunayGas, Korean consortium to jointly own Zhambil drilling rig
ASTANA. Aug 25 (Interfax) - The Kazakh national company KazMunayGas and a consortium of Korean companies have agreed to joint ownership of a drilling rig being built for use at the Zhambil block.
"We have signed an agreement on the joint ownership and management of the drilling rig. In line with the agreement with the Korean consortium concerning the Zhambil block, the Koreans will build and deliver a specialized drilling rig to the Caspian," KazMunayGas chief Kairgeldy Kabyldin said on the sidelines of a Kazakh-Korean business forum in Astana on Thursday. An associated memorandum of mutual understanding between KazMunayGas and KC Kazakh BV (acting on the consortium's behalf) was signed during the forum.
"In accordance with these agreements, the Koreans will build and then transfer to our joint venture for management-ownership the rig, to be put together at wharfs in Romania and then next spring transported to the Caspian. The Koreans will do all the building and finance it. It costs somewhere over $120 million," Kabyldin said.
The drilling of the first exploratory well at Zhambil is slated for the second half of next year, he said.
As reported, the drilling rig is intended for use in shallow (2.5-5.5 meters) water with a top drilling depth of 6,000 meters. The rig will be built in the second quarter of 2012.
The construction, as per an earlier agreement on the Zhambil section, is being worked on by a consortium of Korean investors that owns 27% in the project. KazMunayGas's interests (it owns 73% in the Zhambil project) in this project are represented by subsidiary KazMunayTeniz.
TOO Teniz Burtylau, a KazMunayTeniz subsidiary, has been selected to operate the drilling rig.
The Zhambil oilfield is located in the northern part of Kazakhstan's Caspian Sea waters, 50 km off shore and 180 km from the port of Aktau.
KazMunayGas is Kazakhstan's national operator for prospecting, extracting, processing, and transporting hydrocarbons.
