Kashagan operator NCOC appeals Kazakhstan court decision on fine (updated)

Exxonmobil Holdings

Yesterday 06:39

Adds context
ALMATY, Nov 5 (Reuters) - North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC), which runs the Kashagan oil field, has appealed a Kazakhstan court ruling upholding a fine of 2.36 trillion tenge ($5.22 billion), Russian news agency Interfax reported on Thursday, citing the court's press service.
 NCOC has been mired in a lengthy legal standoff with the Kazakh government, which accuses it ​of environmental violations related to sulphur storage, ​and has ordered NCOC to pay a large fine. NCOC ‌and ⁠its contractors have rejected the fine and the allegations, and the case is currently being heard in international arbitration.
 In July, Reuters reported ​that Kazakhstan ​had warned ⁠NCOC’s head that he faced criminal prosecution if the fine was ​not paid.
 Kazakhstan produces about 2% of daily global ⁠oil supply. Critics and some international oil majors have accused Kazakhstan of seeking to increase ⁠its ​control over its oil industry ​via "resource nationalism," an accusation the government rejects.

($1 = 452.4300 tenge)

 (Reporting by Anton Kolodyazhnyy and Felix Light; Writing by Gleb Stolyarov; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Christian Schmollinger)
 ((moscow.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com;))