Kazakhstan Orders Kashagan Oil Field Operator to Pay $6.6M Fine
January 10, 2025
A court in Kazakhstan has fined the operator of the giant Kashagan oilfield 3.5 billion tenge ($6.64 million) for environmental violations, such as excessive gas flaring, local media reported.
The group, which includes Shell, Eni, TotalEnergies and Exxon Mobil, did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Kazakhstan has a history of large claims against foreign companies, which say the government uses these to increase its shares in oil and gas projects in what amounts to "resource nationalism".
Kazakhstan's authorities have rejected such criticism saying its aim is to rein in costs inflated by Western majors.
The country in 2023 launched claims over disputed costs against groups developing the Kashagan and Karachaganak oilfields worth over $13 billion and $3.5 billion, respectively.
($1 = 526.8500 tenge)
(Reuters - Reporting by Mariya Gordeyeva; writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Jason Neely)
