ASTANA, Kazakhstan, July 2 (UPI) -- British energy company Petrofac said it signed a deal with a counterpart in Kazakhstan to increase onshore oil production.
British Prime Minister David Cameron was in Kazakhstan, bringing along a trade delegation and millions of dollars worth of business deals.
The British energy company said it signed a memorandum of understanding with an exploration division of KazMunaiGas to improve the efficiency and production of oil at the mature onshore Emba fields in Kazakhstan.
Petrofac is expected to submit improvement plans to its partner at a later date. Abat Nurseitov, the top executive at KazMunaiGas, said Monday the memorandum would help to replenish oil and natural gas reserves at one of the company's key assets.
The Kazakh company said exploration sites within Emba were either depleted or overexploited. The 35 deposits in operation at the field are estimated to hold at least 140 million barrels of oil reserves.
During his visit, Cameron helped inaugurate production facilities tied to the offshore Kashagan oil field, considered to be one of the largest in the world.
