The cost of Kashagan, already the world’s most expensive oil project , is set to rise by nearly $4bn as the companies developing it are forced to replace 200km of leaking pipelines. The rise marks another setback for a venture that was supposed to symbolise Kazakhstan’s emergence as a leading oil producer, but it has been dogged by technical challenges, delays and cost over-runs. More On this topic IN Oil & Gas The consortium – which includes , , , and CNPC – marked first production at the Kazakhstan field in September last year after spending $50bn on its development, but production was shut weeks later when sulphur-containing gas was discovered leaking from pipelines between […]