Exxon blocks Kashagan's settlement proposal over Kazakhstan's $5 billion fine, Bloomberg News reports

Exxonmobil Holdings

09/10/2026 11:57

Oct 9 (Reuters) - ExxonMobil XOM.N blocked a proposal for partners in the Kashagan oil field in Kazakhstan to make a settlement with the country's government over a disputed $5 billion environmental fine, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. 
The North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC), which includes Exxon, Shell SHEL.L, Eni ENI.MI and TotalEnergies TTEF.PA, has been in a legal standoff with the Kazakh government, which accuses it of sulphur storage-related environmental violations.

Here are more details:
Kashagan, an offshore field in the Caspian Sea, is one of the world's largest oil discoveries in recent decades, with an estimated 13 billion barrels of recoverable reserves.
Kazakhstan late last month restarted enforcement action to collect a 2.3 trillion tenge ($5.22 billion) fine from the international consortium operating the Kashagan oil field, Russia's Interfax news agency reported.
A Kazakh court dismissed a lawsuit by the field's operator seeking to overturn the decision to begin enforcement proceedings to collect the fine, Interfax news agency reported late last month.
The status of the penalty has become a central issue in the oil major's talks with Kazakhstan over a proposed expansion of production at the Kashagan oil field, the Bloomberg report said. 
Exxon told the Kazakh government that a potential $80 billion investment in the field would depend on resolving the dispute, according to the Bloomberg report.
Exxon was not in favour of the recent proposal and persuaded TotalEnergies to its side, the report said.
Exxon did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.


 (Reporting by Pranav  Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)
 ((Pranav.Mathur@thomsonreuters.com;))