FACTBOX-Facts about Kashagan oil field

Aug 28 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan suspended work at the huge Kashagan oilfield on Monday, putting pressure on the field's Western operators led by Eni (ENI.MI) over delays and cost overruns at one of the world's biggest oil projects.

Here are few facts on the Kashagan oil field:

* Kashagan is in the northern part of the Caspian Sea. The offshore discovery is one of the largest since Alaska's Prudhoe Bay, and Kazakhstan plans to triple its oil output in 15 years with the field.

* The recoverable crude oil contains around 16 percent hydrogen sulphide, and the field is "over pressured", forcing workers to carry emergency breathing gear at all times. There is a harsh climate which in summer rises above 40 degrees Celsius and crashes to -40, which results in shallow water freezing.

* The Offshore Kazakhstan International Operating Company (OKIOC) awarded the operatorship of the oil field to Eni's Agip SpA. The AgipKCO consortium on the Caspian Sea also includes Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L), Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N), Total (TOTF.PA), ConocoPhillips (COP.N), Japan's Inpex Holdings Inc (1605.T) and the Kazakh oil company KazMunaiGas [KMG.UL], which replaced BG (BG.L).

* The start of production at the oil field has been delayed to the second half of 2010, slipping from initial 2005 target due to technical difficulties. The project cost has escalated from $57 billion to $136 billion, Kazakhstan's energy minister said in late July.

* The Kazakh government has suspended work at the oil field for at least three month on grounds of ecological violations, and is investigating a possible link between the operations and the deaths of hundreds of young seals earlier this year on the Caspian coast.