Oil Majors Start Talks to Settle $5 Billion Kashagan Sulfur Fine
- Field operator accused of breaking environmental rules at site
- Central Asia’s largest producer is crucial supplier to Europe
The Kashagan offshore oil field in Kazakhstan.
Photographer: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
The oil majors behind the giant Kashagan field have started talks with Kazakhstan’s government seeking to settle a dispute over a $5 billion environmental fine, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Kazakh authorities ordered the North Caspian Operating Company, which runs Kashagan, to pay a 2.3 trillion tenge ($5 billion) fine earlier this year for allegedly storing too much sulfur at the project. The operator has denied any wrongdoing and mounted a successful legal challenge to the decision, but the government is still pursuing the penalty at the country’s court of appeals.