* Strongman president irked by Kashagan delays
* Higher oil output critical for Kazakhstan's fast growth
By Raushan Nurshayeva
ASTANA, July 3 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan's President NursultanNazarbayev reshuffled the nation's top oil officials onWednesday, demoting a long-serving minister in what someobservers saw as punishment for the delayed development of thegiant Kashagan offshore oilfield.
Oil and Gas Minister Sauat Mynbayev, who had held the postsince 2007, resigned to be replaced by technocrat UzakbaiKarabalin.
Nazarbayev, who has ruled Kazakhstan for more than twodecades, then appointed Mynbayev as the new head of national oiland gas company KazMunaiGas , effectivelydemoting him.
"I believe one reason behind Mynbayev's resignation is thepostponement of commercial output at Kashagan," Kazakh politicalanalyst Dosym Satpayev told Reuters. "This issue has long been aheadache for the government."
"I think it's all about Kashagan," a source close to the oiland gas ministry added.
Last weekend Nazarbayev and visiting British Prime MinisterDavid Cameron opened a plant in western Kazakhstan which willprocess crude flowing from Kashagan in the Caspian Sea, theworld's largest oil discovery in five decades.
After several delays, Kashagan is expected to produce itsfirst oil in September, but some industry sources say this newdeadline could be missed as well.
"A realistic term would be spring 2014," an oil trader said.
Kazakhstan, the world's ninth largest country by area with apopulation of 17 million, holds 3 percent of the world'srecoverable oil reserves and is the second-largest post-Sovietoil producer after Russia.
OIL-FUELLED GROWTH
Oil has fuelled the robust growth of Kazakhstan's grossdomestic product, officially forecast to expand by 6 percentthis year after a 5 percent rise in 2012.
Oil production is officially targeted to rise to 82 milliontonnes this year from 79.2 million tonnes in 2012, and Kashaganis instrumental in achieving an ambitious official goal ofincreasing crude output by 60 percent by the end of this decade.
"The tempo of Kazakhstan's economic growth is directlylinked to the development of this oilfield, and state officialsand ratings agencies alike openly speak about this fact," saidSatpayev.
"Kashagan's delayed output has long been unnerving thepresident and the government."
A multinational consortium developing Kashagan says thedeposit and nearby fields hold an estimated 35 billion barrelsof oil in place, including 9 billion to 13 billion barrels ofrecoverable oil.
Kazakhstan announced on Tuesday it was using its pre-emptiveright to buy an 8.4 percent stake in Kashagan from consortiumparticipant ConocoPhillips.
The U.S. oil major, which has been selling its assetsabroad, said it was selling the stake for about $5 billion.
KazMunaiGas, which entered the project in 2005 and laterdoubled its stake to 16.81 percent, said on Monday that China'sCNPC was set to win ConocoPhillips' stake for morethan $5 billion.
During Kashagan's development, production will be graduallyramped up to 370,000 barrels per day (bpd) in a second stagefrom 180,000 bpd in the first stage in 2013-14, according toNorth Caspian Operating Company, which is developing the field.
Italy's ENI, U.S. major ExxonMobil, RoyalDutch Shell and France's Total each hold16.81 percent stakes in Kashagan. Japan's Inpex owns7.56 percent.
