An international arbitration court has rejected Kazakhstan's attempt to recover about 12 billion US dollars from oil companies in a dispute over development costs at the Kashagan field, Bloomberg reports. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Sputnik Kazakhstan.
The claim was filed too late and was therefore not considered. The dispute concerned costs incurred between 2011 and 2015. Accordingly, the arbitration court refused to hear the claims, Bloomberg said.
Sputnik Kazakhstan contacted the Ministry of Energy for comment. However, the ministry said the case is confidential.
"All materials relating to the aforementioned arbitration, including data on the actual circumstances of the case, are subject to the confidentiality requirements stipulated in the final production sharing agreement, as well as in the arbitration agreement between the disputing parties. These requirements are binding on all participants in the process. In this regard, until the competent authority lifts the restrictions, the Ministry of Energy is not permitted to disclose information, provide comments or opinions, or otherwise discuss the circumstances of the case in question. Until the confidentiality regime is changed, no additional information can be provided," the ministry said.
Kashagan is a major offshore oil and gas field located in Kazakhstan's sector of the Caspian Sea, 80 kilometres from Atyrau.