Consortium members BG Group, Eni, Chevron and Lukoil will
sell stakes on a pro-rata basis to allow the Central Asian state to enter the
project, said one of the two sources and a third source close to the
negotiations.
"Everything major that has been a bone of contention
will go away," one of the three sources said on Friday. All of the sources
spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Kazakhstan, Central Asia's largest economy, has become
more assertive over its natural resources in recent years and has sought to
revise agreements struck with foreign energy companies when it lacked cash after
the Soviet Union's demise.
The government has long expressed a desire to join the
international consortium that operates the Karachaganak field in northwestern
Kazakhstan, which contributes 49 percent of the gas produced by the country and
18 percent of its crude oil.
"We expect the leaders of the consortium to be
invited to Astana no later than Dec. 16," one of the sources said. A
second source said the signing was scheduled to take place on Dec. 14.
BG Group and Eni are the biggest shareholders in the
Karachaganak consortium, holding 32.5 percent each. US major Chevron has 20
percent and Russia's Lukoil has 15 percent.
Two of the three sources said that Kazakhstan would pay
$1 billion for a 5 percent stake in the project and, in return for the other 5
percent, at least some of its legal claims against the operators of the project
would be dropped.
"The agreement to resolve this dispute proposes the
removal of mutual arbitration claims," one source said.
The government, which says it wants to exercise control
over costs for the Phase Three development of Karachaganak, has brought several
cases against the operators, accusing them of overstating costs and violating
tax and ecological laws.
These claims have included the preparation of back-tax
claims against the Karachaganak Petroleum Operating Group (KPO) consortium.
The sources declined to be more specific about which
cases would be dropped or whether any outstanding claims would remain.
BG declined to comment on the signing of any deal. The
company said it and the other consortium partners had been in "protracted
discussions" with the Kazakh government to resolve their disputes and
develop the Karachaganak project.
"We believe we are on the right path to reaching a
beneficial resolution for all parties but as yet we have not concluded our
discussions," the company said.
"We have maintained that resolution of these issues
by the end of this year would be a good result but it is far more important to
get the detail right rather than simply hit an arbitrary date," it said.
Eni declined to comment.
