UPDATE 1-Kazakhstan sees new Kashagan deal by June 30
(Adds details, quotes)
ASTANA, June 2 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan is in talks with a group of Western oil majors over the cost structure of the giant Kashagan oilfield and hopes to clinch the final deal by the end of this month, Energy Minister Sauat Mynbayev said on Monday.
Kazakhstan and the consortium have been locked in a standoff over cost overruns and production delays at Kashagan since August 2007. Under a tentative January deal, costs were fixed at $136 billion, up from the previous $57 billion estimate.
"Talks are under way," he told reporters. "I think, I hope, they will be over by June 30."
Mynbayev said the government specifically disagreed with a draft budget the Kashagan partners submitted to the government last month. "We are now discussing our objections," he said.
Mynbayev said discussions also involved the timeframe for the start of commercial production at the biggest oil discovery in the last 30 years, currently slated for 2011.
"If (a delay) does happen, it would lead to many other things. All those other things are being discussed now," he said without elaborating.
Kazakhstan threatened last month to slap sanctions on the consortium should its operators decide to delay the start of production again.
The Kashagan consortium unites Eni (ENI.MI), Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L), Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N), Total (TOTF.PA), ConocoPhillips (COP.N), Kazakh KazMunaiGas [KMG.UL] and Japan's Inpex Holdings Inc (1605.T). (Reporting by Raushan Nurshayeva; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov)
