(Adds background and consortium official's comment)
MOSCOW, April 21 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan's Kashagan oilproject is likely to return to production in June 2017, anexecutive of one of the field's consortium members toldreporters at an energy conference in Moscow on Thursday.
The comments by Wang Zhongcai, first vice-president of ChinaNational Petroleum Corp, suggest that Kashagan willmiss the December 2016 target indicated by the Kazakhstaneconomy ministry late last year.
However, an official at the NCOC consortium developing thefield said on Thursday that plans to restart production by theend of the year remain unchanged.
After huge delays and cost overrruns, Kashagan finally beganproducing oil in September 2013 but halted production a fewweeks later after gas leaks were detected in its pipelines.
Oil is the main export of Kazakhstan, the biggest ex-Sovietoil producer behind Russia, though the drop in global oil priceshas threatened the viability of some of its mature fields.
The NCOC consortium also includes KazMunaiGas,Exxon Mobil, Eni, Royal Dutch Shell,Total and Japan's Inpex. (Reporting by Olesya Astakhova; Writing by Maria Tsvetkova;Editing by Vladimir Soldatkin and David Goodman)
