Vitol Wins $1 bln Prefinance Deal for KMG share in Kashagan

KMG Kashagan (KMG), a subsidiary of Kazakh national oil company Kazmunaygaz, has picked trader Vitol to arrange a prepayment for KMG's share in the Kashagan field oil worth $1 billion, KMG said in a statement on its website.

KMG, which holds 16.88 percent in the giant offshore field, closed the tender to select a trader to arrange prepayment for its crude oil on Aug. 3, it said without providing any other details.

The Central Asian nation plans to start commercial output at Kashagan in October following numerous delays caused by the project's technical complexity.

Kashagan may produce between 50,000 and 1 million tonnes of oil this year, 3-5 million tonnes next year and 7 million tonnes in 2018, Kazakh Energy Minister Kanat Bozumbayev said in May.

Besides KMG, owned by KazMunayGaz and Kazakh sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna, the Kashagan consortium includes Eni , Exxon Mobil (XOM), Royal Dutch Shell (RYDAF), Total , China's CNPC and Japan's Inpex.

Reporting by Gleb Gorodyankin and Alla Afanasyeva