(Recasts with the venture statement)
ALMATY, June 6 (Reuters) - The troubled Kashagan oildevelopment has named an executive from U.S. firm Exxon Mobil to run the venture while also streamlining itscomplicated structure in an attempt to fix the beleaguered $50billion project offshore Kazakhstan.
The group said on Friday Stephane de Mahieu, an Exxonsecondee, had become managing director as of May 1, 2014.
However, it denied a report in industry publication NefteCompass that Exxon would take over as operator of Kashagansaying that instead all seven oil firms involved will beeffectively operators through a rejigged venture.
"The appointment of an ExxonMobil secondee to managingdirector does not mean that Exxon is taking over theoperatorship of North Caspian Sea Production Sharing Agreement,"a spokesman for the venture Hans Wenck said.
After delays and cost overruns, production at Kashagan - oneof the world's biggest finds of the past decades - finallystarted last September but was halted in early October after thediscovery of gas leaks in the pipeline network.
Oil output may not restart until early 2016, Kazakhofficials said in May, urging foreign partners to startreplacing leaky pipelines at the deposit.
Italy's Eni was given the job of operating theproject in 2001. It later lost its role as the sole leadoperator following major delays and cost overruns.
The Kashagan shareholders are Eni, Exxon Mobil, Royal DutchShell, France's Total and Kazakh state oilcompany Kazmunaigas, each with 16.8 percent, and Japan's Inpexand China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) as juniorpartners.
The seven firms will continue to oversee the managingdirector.
But under the new scheme, the reformed joint venture, run bythe managing director, will be responsible for drilling, development and production at the same time, whilst in the pastthose responsibilities were split in a complicated way betweenEni, Kazmunaigas, Shell and Exxon.
No changes to the production sharing agreement or theproject's ownership structure are envisioned as a result of theplanned transition, the venture said in a statement.
Working "under one umbrella" means that workflows will bemore efficient, Wenck said.
The field was meant to be producing 370,000 barrels per dayat the peak of the first phase which is likely to be achievedonly a few years after the field restart. (Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov in London and Dmitry Solovyovin Almaty, editing by William Hardy)