Kashagan oilfield operators ordered to cough up $4.9bn in environmental fine to Kazakhstan

Speaking at a briefing hosted by the Central Communications Service, Vaisov said the court ruling requiring the payment has entered into legal force.

Foreign companies are currently ordered to pay a 2.3 trillion tenge penalty. Should they fail to settle the fine by July 20, the Republic of Kazakhstan will pursue full collection under the law, utilizing standard enforcement procedures, he said.

The deputy minister stated that if the companies fail to obey the court's ruling, authorities will launch enforcement actions and use mandatory debt collection.

Meanwhile, the Kashagan operators continue to challenge the actions of Kazakhstan's state authorities through international arbitration. Vaisov said the consortium's contractors disagreed with the government's decisions and filed a case with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

The parties are currently finalizing the composition of the arbitration panel, with the tribunal expected to be fully constituted by late July.

Kazakhstan's Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources first filed its claim against the Kashagan project operators in 2023, seeking around 2.3 trillion tenge (around $5.1 billion at the time) in penalties for the excessive storage of sulfur, which authorities said violated environmental regulations.

On August 1, 2025, the Administrative Chamber of the Astana City Court overturned the ministry's original order, citing procedural violations in its issuance.

Later that month, the Ministry of Ecology addressed the procedural shortcomings identified by the court and reissued the environmental penalty, again imposing a fine of 2.3 trillion tenge on the Kashagan operators for environmental violations.

Earlier, Qazinform reported the Kashagan gas processing plant enters a construction phase.