At the Wellhead

摘要

It is almost 18 months since ExxonMobil boss Lee Raymond sent a cri-de-coeur to Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev saying there was no way that Kashagan, the world’s biggest offshore oil discovery for a generation, could come on stream in 2008. ExxonMobil never confirmed the contents of the letter—one industry source told Platts at the time Raymond had used the dramatic phrasing “No more lies; no oil in 2008”—but at last we know the substance of his message was true. The first commercial oil from Kasha-gan will not be produced until at least 2010.