The Eni-led consortium developing the giant Kashagan oil field in the Caspian Sea proposes to postpone the start of production to 2012-2013 from 2011, the Kazakh government said today.

“They want to postpone the start of production”, Energy Minister Mynbayev was quoted as saying, adding that 2012 and 2013 were being considered as possible years for the start of production at Kashagan. And — certainly — the Kazakh government would want to sanction the consortium should the delay occur.

The Kashagan consortium’s major players also include Total, Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell and Kazakh state-run Kazmunaigas. The consortium is in talks with the government over a new development plan for Kashagan, the largest oil field discovered anywhere since the 1960s and has an estimated 13 bln barrels of recoverable reserves.