Eni's CEO meets Kazakh president

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ASTANA, Kazakhstan, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- Italian energy company Eni is optimistic about the prospects for future energy development in Kazakhstan, the company chief executive officer said.

Eni CEO Paolo Scaroni met in Astana with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

"During the meeting, which was cordial and constructive, Eni's CEO shared the developments and results of the company's ongoing activities in the country with the president, affirming Eni's positive vision of the primary importance projects that Kazakhstan presents, such as the Kashagan and Karachaganak," the energy company stated in a release.

The Kashagan oil field is one of the largest in the world, with as much as 16 billion barrels of estimated commercial reserves.

Eni has an agreement with the Kazakh government and a consortium represented by Karachaganak Petroleum Operating in Astana for the Karachaganak field. State company KazMunaiGaz enters the project with a 10 percent stake.

Karachaganak holds about 2.4 billion barrels of oil and an estimated 15 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Italian prosecutors in May said Eni subsidiary Agip Kco was suspected of offering bribes to Timur Kulibayev, Nazarbayev's son-in-law, through 2007.