PRESS: Lukoil to invest $350 mln in block on Kazakh shelf

MOSCOW, Feb 19 (PRIME) -- Russian oil major Lukoil is close to signing a contract with oil and gas firm KazMunayGas to develop the Zhenis block on the Kazakh shelf of the Caspian Sea and is ready to invest U.S. $350 million in the project, Kommersant business daily reported Tuesday citing Lukoil CEO Vagit Alekperov.

Lukoil and KazMunayGas will own a joint venture for the field’s development on a parity basis and plan to sign a relevant agreement within a month, Alekperov said, the daily reported. Lukoil will pay a $5 million “subscription bonus” to enter the project.

Alekperov has estimated that geological exploration at the block will take from seven to nine years, the daily reported.

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