(Adds details, background)
ASTANA, April 11 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan has started
arbitration proceedings against companies developing its
Kashagan and Karachaganak oilfields over $13 billion and $3.5
billion respectively in costs deducted as part of profit-sharing
deals, its energy minister said on Tuesday.
"I can only say these lawsuits have been filed in the
interest of the people of Kazakhstan," Energy Minister Almasadam
Satkaliyev told reporters, declining to provide any further
details about the claims.
The offshore Kashagan field, one of the biggest discoveries
in recent decades, is being developed by Eni , Shell , TotalEnergies , ExxonMobil ,
KazMunayGas , Inpex and CNPC .
Eni, Shell and KazMunayGaz are also partners in
Karachaganak, alongside Chevron and LUKOIL .
The two consortia's offices in Kazakhstan did not reply to
requests for comment.
Both projects are covered by production-sharing agreements
stipulating that companies can deduct certain costs from income
before splitting it with the government. The size of the
deductions determine how much income there is to be split.
Kashagan and Karachaganak, both of which pump around 400,000
barrels of oil per day, are the second and third biggest
producers of oil respectively in the Central Asian nation whose
economy relies heavily on energy exports.
The Astana government has already had a series of disputes
with its partners about the terms of oil deals, which typically
ended with settlements.
According to a Bloomberg report published this month, the
claims cover the period from 2010 to 2018 for Kashagan and from
2010 to 2019 for Karachaganak.
Kazakhstan and the Karachaganak consortium settled their
most recent dispute in 2018 after three years of negotiations,
with the group paying Astana $1.1 billion and giving it a
greater portion of future profits.
(Reporting by Tamara Vaal; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing
by Kim Coghill, Tom Hogue and Jan Harvey)
Messaging: olzhas.auyezov.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
