The two-year appraisal program undertaken by the contracting companies involved indicated a preliminary estimate of the producable reserves from the Kashagan field to be in the range of seven to nine billion barrels of oil. These figures will be revised on the basis of the results of further studies.

This declaration of commerciality will pave the way for a development plan for the Kashagan field for the mutual benefit of the people of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the contracting companies.

The contracting companies will continue to explore other structures in the North Caspian Sea contract area by drilling Kalamkas (2002), Kashagan South West (2003), Aktote (2003), and Kairan (2003).

The contracting companies involved in the North Caspian Sea PSA are: Eni, operating the project through Agip KCO, with an interest of 16.67 percent; BG, 16.67 percent; ExxonMobil, 16.67 percent; Inpex, 8.33 percent; Phillips, 8.33 percent; Shell, 16.67 percent; and TotalFinaElf, 16.67 percent.