MOL Expands Kazakhstan Presence

KMG EP, the upstream subsidiary of Kazakhstan�s state gas firm KazMunaiGaz (KMG), announced on 19 July it had signed an agreement to sell a 49% stake in the North Karpovsky oil and gas exploration block to Hungary�s MOL. Located onshore in northwest Kazakhstan near the city of Uralsk, it is close to the Fedorovsky block where a MOL-led consortium discovered gas condensate in 2008. The block, which extends over an area of 1,670 sq km, has already undergone extensive seismic study and appraisal drillings, said KMG EP. The partners plan to drill pre-salt exploratory wells in order to confirm preliminary estimates indicating the existence of hydrocarbon reserves (P50) totaling 240mn barrels of oil equivalent (boe). The agreement still needs approval from the EU Competition Commission and the Kazakhstan Ministry of Oil and Gas. MOL, which has a 27.5% share in the Fedorovsky block, made a significant discovery there at the end of 2011 indicating the existence of around 37mn boe, which is primarily gas condensate. KMG EP is Fedorovsky�s operator with a 50% stake.

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