The Astana court has ruled to fine the operator of the supergiant Kashagan oil and gas field, North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC), approximately $7 million for environmental damage.
The company was fined $6.8 billion for excessive flaring of raw methane, and an additional $140,000 is to be paid as a state duty. NCOC has the option to appeal this decision.
It is worth noting that environmentalists filed complaints against the Kashagan operator in early last year, claiming that NCOC was violating its environmental protection plan by discharging untreated water into a pond and flaring dirty methane. There were also complaints about improper storage of sulfur. At that time, they demanded $5.1 billion in compensation.
Kashagan in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea is considered one of the largest oil fields discovered in the last 60 years. The recoverable reserves are estimated to be between 9-13 billion barrels. The field began commercial production in 2016.
Caspian Barrel
