The director of the state company Kazakhstankaspiishelf, Kenzhebek Ibrashev, told Interfax that the implementation of the first stage of the program, which will take three years, will cost about $400-$500 million. The preliminary work will involve research and field work to discover possible oil stocks in the shelf and a comprehensive analysis of the environmental impact that oil extraction will have upon the sea.
The government of Kazakhstan helped set up an international consortium to prospect and develop the Caspian at the end of 1993.
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