Kashagan, seen as one the world's largest undeveloped oilfields, is set to boost Kazakhstan into the superleague of producers.

The offshore field's operator, Italy's ENI , said in a statement that the well, Kashagan West I, flowed at a rate of up to 3,400 barrels of oil per day and 7.6 million cubic feet (215,200 cu metres) of gas per day. The API gravity of the oil ranged between 42-45 degrees, meaning the find is a valuable low density crude. ``The result of this second well on the Kashagan structure is a very positive sign for the group,'' the Offshore Kazakhstan International Operating Company said in a statement. Oil industry experts believe the field, located south-east of the Kazakh oil capital Atyrau in the northeast Caspian, holds 10 billion barrels of oil or more, rivalling Iran's huge Azadegan prospect. ENI declined to comment on Kashagan's possible reserves on Thursday, but an oil industry source in Kazakhstan familiar with the project was upbeat. Kazakhstan expects to produce some 800,000 barrels per day this year, but output is set to soar over the coming years. A pipeline with an eventual capacity of 1.5 million barrels per day from the huge onshore Tengiz field, with recoverable reserves of six to nine billion barrels, to the Russian port of Novorossiisk, opened in March. Another field, Karachaganak, has estimated reserves of 500 billion cubic metres of natural gas and 2,250 million barrels of oil and gas condensate.