ConocoPhillips Sells Stake in Huge Kazakhstan Oil Field for $5 Billion

[Tom Hitchcock]

ConocoPhillips is to sell its 8.4 percent stake in the giant Kazakhstan oil field Kashagan for about $5 billion to Oil and Natural Gas Corp, a state-run Indian group looking to boost production.

Kashagan, the world's biggest oilfield discovery since 1968, holds an estimated 30 billion barrels of oil-in-place, of which 8 billion to 12 billion are potentially recoverable, with first production expected next year.

ConocoPhillips, which has been shedding overseas assets to cut debt and increase its investment in lower-cost domestic shale oil and gas, said on Monday the book value of assets related to its Kashagan interest was about $5.5 billion as of Sept. 30, and it would take an after-tax impairment of about $400 million. The deal was expected to close in the first half of 2013.

[A.Kelly]

A lot of smart money has been flowing into Kazakhstan recently - i don't see this as a good sign though. A development to watch closely.

[The Oil Baron]

I think there should be very little read into this. It is just a part of ConocoPhillips investment strategy, they are looking at domestic shale oil and gas, rather than international conventional oil reserves.