French oil giant Total SA (TOT) said Wednesday it started talks with Kazakhstan\'s state oil and gas company KazMunaiGaz (R.KMGZ) on the joint development of oil fields in the Caspian Sea. \"We are looking closely at the possibility of developing reserves in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea and plan to use all opportunities to enter into new Caspian projects,\" the agency quoted Total\'s general director Pascal Laluel as saying. By the end of this year Kazakhstan\'s government plans to sell licenses for up to 200 exploration blocks in the Kazakh part of the Caspian Sea and KazMunaiGaz has been granted a 50% stake in every new oil project. Total is already involved in one of the largest Caspian projects, Kashagan, where it increased its stake to 20.37% from 16.67% recently through a transaction with BG Group Plc. (Dow Jones)