Kazakhstan’s government has reopened talks with ExxonMobil about expanding the Kashagan oil field—the massive Caspian Sea development once hailed as the world’s biggest oil discovery in 30 years. The discussions reportedly include tapping undeveloped western sections of the reservoir and could be linked to Exxon’s Tengiz license, which expires in 2033. The timing is interesting. Kazakhstan just spent the better part of this year in court with the same group of Western oil majors that operate Kashagan—Eni, Shell, Exxon,…