Both international consortia responsible for the management of the Karachaganak (KPO) and Kashagan (NCOC) super-giant fields in Kazakhstan will appoint two Italian managers to their helms for the first time in March. Giancarlo Ruiu will follow Olivier Lazare, the current CEO of Shell Kazakhstan, and will assume leadership of NCOC (North Caspian Operating Company). The latter is held by KazMunayGas (16.88%) as well as Eni, Shell, ExxonMobil, and TotalEnergies, all of whom possess 16.81% each. With minor stakes, the Chinese group Cnpc (8.33%) and the Japanese group Inpex (7.56%) are also involved. According to MF-Milano Finanza, the change of guard coincides with a record output amount of more than 100 million tons on January 10. A different Italian manager, Marco Marsili, who is presently the president of Shell Italia, will assume the leadership of Karachaganak. Eni and Shell are KPO's largest shareholders, each holding 29.25%, followed by Chevron (18%), Lukoil (13.5%), and Kazakhstan's state-owned oil business, KazMunaiGas (10%).
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