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Kazakhstan claims versus Kashagan oil companies leading $150 bln, Bloomberg reports

Kazakhstan has raised its arbitration claims against the international oil majors that established the Kashagan oilfield to more than $150 billion, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, mentioning individuals familiar with the matter.

Kazakhstan's energy minister stated in 2015 it was pushing ahead with $16.5 billion in claims versus the consortium over contested task expenses and had no prepare for a possible out-of-court settlement.

The report on Wednesday stated the figure had jumped after the Kazakhstan federal government added a claim for as much as $138 billion, reflecting the calculation of the value of oil production that was promised to the government but not delivered by the field developers.

The legal wrangling underscores the threats for foreign companies operating in the previous Soviet Union state and is one of numerous court fights between the global majors and the government.

The overseas Kashagan field, among the greatest discoveries in recent years, is being developed by Eni, Shell , TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil, KazMunayGas, Inpex and CNPC.

Their consortium, called the North Caspian Operating Business ( NCOC), has invested some $50 billion in the job.

Bloomberg cited NCOC as saying it has as number of conflicts worrying the application of particular provisions of the Kashagan production sharing contract that go through arbitration.

The contracting business consider that they have acted in accordance with that agreement, according to NCOC's declaration.

NCOC did not instantly react to a ask for remark. A Shell representative decreased to comment.

A representative for Eni validated that Kazakh authorities had began an arbitration procedure against the consortium partners and regards to the arbitration were private.

Whilst we are evaluating the complex claims, we do not

(source: Reuters)