Kazakhstan suspends proceedings to recover $5 bln from the NCOC oil consortium, IFX reports
XOM•NCOC and its partners
NCOC, a joint venture between Shell SHEL.L, TotalEnergies TTEF.PA, ExxonMobil XOM.N and China's CNPC, among others, runs Kazakhstan’s offshore Kashagan field. It did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Kazakhstan oil output and criticism
Kazakhstan produces around 2% of global daily oil supply. Critics and some international oil majors have accused Kazakhstan of seeking to increase its control over its oil industry via "resource nationalism", an accusation Astana rejects.
($1 = 454.2700 tenge)
Kazakhstan suspends recovery proceedings
MOSCOW, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan's Ministry of Justice has suspended enforcement proceedings to recover 2.3 trillion tenge ($5.06 billion) from the North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC) which runs the Kashagan oil field, Russia's Interfax news agency reported.
Legal dispute with the Kazakh government
NCOC has been mired in a lengthy legal standoff with the Kazakh government, which accuses it of environmental violations related to sulphur storage, and has ordered NCOC to pay a large fine. NCOC and its contractors reject the fine and the allegations behind it, and the case is currently being heard in international arbitration.
In July, Reuters reported that Kazakhstan had warned NCOC’s head that he faced criminal prosecution if the fine was not paid.
