Proved Caspian reserves made 2.95 billion tons of oil

Proved hydrocarbon reserves of the Caspian sea shelf make 3.1 trillion cubic meters of gas and 2.95 billion tons of oil, RIA Novosti reports citing Prime-Minister of Russia Sergey Ivanov. Ivanov said that according to the estimates of western companies, Caspian geological oil and gas resources range from 26 to 40 billion tons of oil equivalent. Ivanov said that in future these resources may become a solid base for an economic boom in the area. Currently Russian sector of the Caspian Sea has 10 oilfields capable of producing around 40 million tons of oil annually. A large oilfield was discovered in Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian sea. Reserves of the new field called Umid (Hope) are at least 200 million cubic meters of gas and 30 million tons of gas condensate. Kashagan is Kazakhstan’s largest oil field in the North Caspian Sea. Kashagan holds 0.96-1.23 billion tons of recoverable reserves, and 4.92 billion tons of estimated resources. But it is expensive and technologically hard to develop due to extreme pressure in the layer, dangerously high H2S and CO2 content and harsh weather conditions. So it is prone to delays.