Kazakhstan said last week it doubts whether the Italian oil and gas giant Eni, the project operator, will be able to comply with the terms of an agreement to develop the Kashagan deposit.
"The Kazakh government is committed to the principle of stability of investment contracts. Kazakhstan is ready for open dialogue, aimed at resolving problems over the implementation of the Kashagan project, and I request that our substantiated demands concerning the operators' obligations are not politicized," Sauat Mynbayev said during negotiations with Eni President Paolo Scaroni.
Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov said previously that the slow pace of work at Kashagan and the doubling of operation costs threaten serious socio-economic consequences for Kazakhstan.
The government suspended Eni's license to develop the Kashagan oil deposit for three months in late August.
The Kazakh Ministry of Environmental Protection said the operations by Eni, involved in the development of the country's largest Kashagan deposit, could cause disastrous environmental damage and destroy local flora and fauna.
In late July, the project operator suggested that the deadline to begin commercial production should be shifted from the second half of 2008 to the second half of 2010, with operating costs increasing from $57 billion to $136 billion.
Kashagan's recoverable reserves were estimated in 2000 at 13 billion barrels of oil.
