21-12-99 The Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the partners of the Karachaganak Integrated Organisation ("KIO," consisting of Agip/ENI, BG, Texaco and LUKoil), announced the signing of an amendment to the Karachaganak Final Production Sharing Agreement that allows for the construction of a 460 km pipeline from Bolshoy-Chagan to Atyrau, Kazakhstan.
In Atyrau, this pipeline will link to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) pipeline and will provide the transportation capability needed to increase production to approximately 9 mm tpy (195,000 bpd) of liquids and 11 bn cmpy (1.1 bn cfpd) of gas by 2002. Kazakhstan President Nursultan A. Nazarbaev hailed the agreement saying, "This project is significant not just because it provides a new transportation system to international markets by connecting Karachaganak to the CPC pipeline, but because it will allow a $ 2.1 bn expansion program to go forward, increasing production at Karachaganak threefold. Over the next two years, five thousand new jobswill be created for Kazakhstan citizens during construction, and after the expansion is complete there will be approximately four thousand permanent jobs for Kazakhstan citizens."

The signing took place in Washington, D.C., and was attended by President Nursultan Nazarbaev; Edward le M. Trafford, Executive Vice President BG International; Massimo Nicolazzi, Senior Vice President ENI; Robert A. Golberg, President of Commercial Development, Texaco; and Osman Sapaev, Deputy General Manager of LUKoil.