Brussels, 16/01/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 16 January, Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs welcomed the agreement between the ENI energy group and the authorities of Kazakhstan. The agreement puts an end to the dispute over development of the Kashagan oil field (EUROPE 9497) and should lead to the rapid development of the project. Initially planned for 2005, the production stream was planned to come online by 2011. The Kashagan oil field is the largest oil discovery for 40 years. The memorandum of understanding, signed in Astana on 14 January 2008, brings an end to a six-month standoff between the members of the Kashagan consortium led by ENI, which includes the Dutch company Royal Dutch Shell, the French company Total, the US companies Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips, the Japanese group Inpex, and the authorities of Kazakhstan. Differences between the different parties focused on the timetable for oil field production, burgeoning costs and environmental considerations. The authorities in Astana had previously wanted the national energy group, KazMunaïGas to get a leading role in exploitation of the Kashagan field. Under the terms of the new agreement KazMunaïGas will have a 16.81% stake in the ENI headed consortium, as opposed to the 8.33% laid down in the initial terms of the agreement. (E.H.)