Kazakhstan wants to sue Western oil giants for $150 billion

The Kazakh authorities have increased the amount of claims against participants in the project to develop the Kashagan field. Bloomberg reports this. According to the publication, Astana included compensation for lost profits in the amount of $150 billion in the total amount of the claim.

Let us recall that the initial amount of Kazakhstan’s claims was exactly ten times less. Astana was only trying to compensate for production costs at the Kashagan field associated with the postponement, technical difficulties and cost overruns. But now the republic's plans have changed.



The new claims include a calculation of the cost of oil production, which the companies promised to Kazakhstan, but never implemented the plans. And this is no less than $138 billion.

Bloomberg recalls that Eni, Shell, Exxon Mobil and TotalEnergies at one time invested about $55 billion in the development of Kashagan. Production at the field began in 2016. Currently, just under 400 thousand barrels of oil per day are produced.

Let us note that representatives of the mentioned companies are in no hurry to recognize the arbitration claims of Kazakhstan, promising to file a counterclaim in European arbitration.

Let us add that Astana also has complaints about the activities of the project operator, NCOC. She believes that in 2022 the operator burned sulfur dioxide without special permission. The waste was dumped into the Caspian Sea.