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Kazakhstan pursuing US$5.2 billion fine against ExxonMobil others over sulphur storage violations

By
Staff Editor

Mon, October 5 2026, 2:09 AM GMT-4

A cashier checks Kazakhstan’s Tenge currency notes in a Eurasian Bank branch in Almaty January 15, 2015. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov

MOSCOW, (Reuters) – Kazakhstan has restarted enforcement action to collect a 2.3 trillion ‌tenge (US$5.22 billion) fine from the international consortium operating the Kashagan oilfield, Interfax reported on Wednesday, citing the Ministry of Justice.

The North Caspian Operating Company – a venture including Shell, TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil and China’s CNPC – ⁠has long disputed the fine, which Kazakh authorities imposed over alleged sulphur-storage violations, and says it is contesting the penalty by all available means.

NCOC is a joint venture of Shell, TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil, and China’s CNPC, among others. It has said it was rejecting the fine and the allegations underlying the fine, contesting them ‌by ⁠all available means.

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Justice did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

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 accounts for around 2% of daily ⁠world oil supply and is engaged in arbitration with international oil majors working on several of its ⁠oilfields, which it accuses of various environmental violations and corrupt practices.

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