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To: DRRISK who wrote (5152)	11/19/1997 8:42:00 AM
From: GREATMOOD	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 11888

To all: General news c The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) - President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakstan signed energy agreements with big oil companies at the State Department Tuesday - and was asked by the Clinton administration to avoid economic deals with Iran. Nazarbayev also met with President Clinton, who wants to tie countries in the region closer to the West without annoying Russia. The two leaders ''underscored the special importance they attach to the close and productive relationship between the United States and Kazakstan,'' a joint statement said. Clinton and Nazarbayev discussed political and economic reform in Kazakstan, questions relating to nonproliferation of nuclear weapons, the importance of developing Caspian Sea energy resources and pipeline routes for this oil and gas. ''We have been long in favor of multiple routes for pipeline traffic and that's a serious subject of discussion that's been going on between the two governments,'' White House press secretary Mike McCurry said. The joint statement issued after the meeting called for the adoption of ''a Caspian Sea legal regime that establishes a clear division of property rights based on the division of seabed resources.'' Clinton welcomed Kazakstan's efforts to integrate itself into the global economy, and he pledged support for the former Soviet republic's joining the World Trade Organization. ''The United States is committed to support economic reform in Kazakstan through a robust program of technical assistance and cooperation,'' the joint statement said. Nazarbayev signed a series of agreements including a $7 billion to $8 billion 40-year accord involving Texaco Inc. to develop oil and gas fields in northwestern Kazakstan. Another accord covered a partnership deal with Mobil. Other agreements concerned security and defense issues. Nazarbayev has said he wants U.S. help in developing military forces after the country scrapped its Soviet nuclear missile force. Energy Secretary Federico Pena said the Clinton administration wanted to help Kazakstan ''get where it's going so it can serve as a model for the entire region.'' But he warned Nazarbayev against cooperating with Iran as long as that nation supports international terrorism. Pena said that the Clinton administration supported a multiple-pipeline policy to get Caspian Sea oil to the West but opposed any routes that involved Iran. The Kazakstan leader told a conference of business people he wanted to develop closer ties with the United States, build a strong market economy and play a role in international affairs. Speaking at Gallaudet University's Institute of East West Studies, Nazarbayev said investors would find '''great opportunities for investment'' in Kazakstan, particularly in energy projects. One of five nations bordering the Caspian Sea, Kazakstan is one third the size of the United States. It may have half of central Asia's estimated 100 billion barrels of oil. The United States is eager to promote development of these resources as an alternative to supplies from the Middle East. Nazarbayev said Kazakstan, which became independent in 1991 when the Soviet Union broke up, is committed to economic reform, eliminating corruption and reducing the bureaucracy to help smooth the path for investors. Some businessmen working in Kazakstan said they were concerned Nazarbayev might slow market-oriented reform after he replaced several change-oriented members of his government last month. AP-NY-11-18-97 1943EST __________________________________________________________________ WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Kazakstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev Tuesday signed an agreement with an international consortium to develop the Karachaganak oil and natural-gas field in northwestern Kazakstan. In the Karachaganak agreement, Italy's Agip Spa and U.K.'s British Gas PLC will each have a 25% stake, Texaco Inc. (TX) will own 20%, Russia's AO Lukoil 15%, and Kazakstan, the remaining 15%. The Karachaganak field, discovered in 1979, has estimated reserves of 500 billion cubic meters of natural gas and 300 million tons of oil and condensates. Texaco expects its potential share of total recoverable reserves from a Kazakstan agreement to be about 700 million barrels of oil equivalent over 40 years. The field's reserves are estimated at more than 2 billion barrels of oil and condensates and about 20 trillion cubic feet of gas. At the same time, Nazarbayev also signed a deal for offshore exploration with a consortium that includes Mobil Corp. (MOB), the Royal Dutch/Shell Group (RD), France's Total S.A. (TOT), Agip, British Gas, and an alliance of British Petroleum (BP) and Norway's Statoil AS. Reserves of oil and gas deposits on Kazakstan's Caspian shelf have been estimated at 10 billion metric tons of oil and more than 2 trillion cubic meters of gas. Transmitted: 11/18/97 16:48 (L100ZW0P) __________________________________________________________________