(Reuters) – ExxonMobil blocked a proposal for partners in the Kashagan oil field in Kazakhstan to make a settlement with ​the country’s government over a disputed US$5 billion environmental fine, ‌Bloomberg News reported yesterday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC), which includes Exxon, Shell, Eni and TotalEnergies has been ​in a legal standoff with the Kazakh government, which ​accuses it of sulphur storage-related environmental violations.

Here are more ⁠details:

• Kashagan, an offshore field in the Caspian Sea, is ​one of the world’s largest oil discoveries in recent decades, ​with an estimated 13 billion barrels of recoverable reserves.
• Kazakhstan late last month restarted enforcement action to collect a 2.3 trillion tenge ($5.22 billion) fine from ​the international consortium operating the Kashagan oil field, Russia’s ​Interfax news agency reported.
• A Kazakh court dismissed a lawsuit by the field’s operator ‌seeking ⁠to overturn the decision to begin enforcement proceedings to collect the fine, Interfax news agency reported late last month.
• The status of the penalty has become a central issue in ​the oil ​major’s talks with ⁠Kazakhstan over a proposed expansion of production at the Kashagan oil field, the Bloomberg ​report said.
• Exxon told the Kazakh government that a ​potential $80 ⁠billion investment in the field would depend on resolving the dispute, according to the Bloomberg report.
• Exxon was not in favour ⁠of ​the recent proposal and persuaded TotalEnergies ​to its side, the report said.
• Exxon did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request ​for comment.