Arbitration with Kashagan shareholders still underway – energy ministerThe international arbitration is still hearing the positions of the parties in the dispute between the government of Kazakhstan and the shareholders of the Kashagan oil and gas field, Minister of Energy Almasadam Satkaliyev said."There are certain procedures. I said earlier that certain hearings are ongoing. The international arbitration is considering the positions of the parties. We expected that the hearings would be ended in the second half of this autumn and some information would become available. Unfortunately, these hearings are still going on. We do not yet have information about when they may be over," Satkaliyev told journalists on the sidelines of the Monday meeting of the parliament in Astana.Satkaliyev said earlier that preliminary results from the international arbitration involving Kashagan's shareholders might be released in the latter half of autumn this year.The international arbitration court began hearing cases related to claims by the Kazakh government against the operators of the country's largest oil and gas fields --Karachaganak and Kashagan -- in the summer of 2024.As the minister previously stated, these disputes are commercial in nature and "in no way affect the investment component."Kazakhstan's government filed lawsuits against the shareholders of North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC), which operates the Kashagan field, and Karachaganak Petroleum Operating (KPO), the developer of Karachaganak, seeking $16.5 billion in damages for the country's citizens. Bloomberg sources indicated that the lawsuits were based on claims of unauthorized expenses, with the government arguing that project partners should not deduct $13 billion in expenses for Kashagan and $3.5 billion for Karachaganak.In April, Bloomberg, citing sources, reported that Kazakhstan has increased its arbitration claim against NCOC to over $150 billion. This includes $138 billion for oil production promised but not delivered.The shareholders of the NCOC consortium, the operator of Kashagan, are KMG Kashagan B.V. (16.877%), Shell Kazakhstan Development B.V. (16.807%), Total EP Kazakhstan (16.807%), AgipCaspian Sea B.V. (16.807%), ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Inc. (16.807%), CNPC Kazakhstan B.V. (8.333%) and Inpex NorthCaspian Sea Ltd. (7.563%).Kashagan is the first offshore oil and gas field in Kazakhstan's sector of the Caspian Sea and the largest international investment project in the country. Its recoverable reserves are estimated to be between 9 billion and 13 billion barrels of oil. Commercial production began on November 1, 2016. In 2023, the field produced 18.8 million tonnes of oil. (ICE ALMATY)

Fonte notizia: INTERFAX