Kazakh Govt To Be First

Kazakhstan?s Parliament has approved legal changes that would let the government the first priority to buy stakes in oil projects in the republic.
If approved by Parliament and signed by the president, the changes sprung, taking into account the national company KazMunaiGaz to win its stalled bid to join an international project to develop a giant oil field in the Caspian Sea.
Kazakhstan's bid to get a share in the Kashagan field is seen as part of the government's efforts to increase KazMunaiGaz's participation in the country's oil-and-gas sector, which is dominated by foreign investors.
The Central Asian government is in talks with a seven-member international consortium to buy a 16.67 percent stake in Kashagan from group member British Gas -- a share worth about US$1.2 billion.
The consortium -- comprised of Italian energy giant Eni, British Gas, Total SA, Royal Dutch/Shell Group, ExxonMobil Corp., ConocoPhillips and Japan's Inpex -- could strain its relations with the Kazakh government if it blocks the sale to KazMunaiGaz.