AKIPRESS.COM - European investors are placing a big bet on oil-rich Kazakhstan, as the Italian and French multinational companies, Eni and Total, plan to explore oil and gas blocks in Kazakhstan’s sector of the Caspian Sea and along the coastal area, the Caspian News reported.

Kazakhstan’s state-owned KazMunayGas and Eni Isatay, which is a subsidiary of the Italian energy giant Eni, recently inked a document for the exploration and production of hydrocarbons at the Abay site. The companies will drill a well with a depth of 2,500 meters (8,202 inches) as well as conduct a 2-dimensional seismic survey. The cost of the project is said to be more than 14 billion tenge, or approximately $36.5 million.

“The implementation of the agreement will lead to an increase in the economic benefits of the project for Kazakhstan, as well as the creation of additional amount of work and services for oilfield service companies and job opportunities in the region,” reads a statement posted to the Kazakhstani prime minister’s official website, dated July 4.

The Abay oil field lies at a depth of eight to 10 meters (27-33 feet), 43 miles northwest of the Buzachi Peninsula. Oil deposits are thought to be about 337 million tons.

Meanwhile, last week’s meeting resulted in another deal between the Kazakhstani government, the French energy giant Total, Oman Oil Company Exploration & Production, and Portugal’s Partex Oil and Gas. The government in Nur-Sultan (formerly called Astana) approved a 15-year extension of the production sharing agreement for the Dunga field, originally signed in 1994 and due to expire in 2024. In addition, the parties agreed to launch Phase 3 of the development of the same field, which is operated by Total (60 percent), alongside Oman Oil Company (20 percent) and Partex (20 percent).