国际仲裁庭驳回哈萨克斯坦针对卡沙甘油田约120亿美元成本索赔，石油巨头或有负债部分解除

An international court of arbitration invalidated about $12 billion of Kazakhstan’s claims against oil majors for disputed costs at the Kashagan field, according to people familiar with the matter.

Kazakhstan was seeking to recoup about $20 billion of disputed costs related to the country’s second-largest oil field, which was brought into production years late and well over budget. The court of arbitration decided that the government filed its case too late for costs incurred between 2011 and 2015, while allowing about $8 billion of other claims to proceed, the people said, asking not to be named because the information is private.

The disputed costs are just one element of a long-running legal battle between the Kazakh state and the international oil companies that run Kashagan. The arbitration process will continue, with the government seeking total compensation of more than $150 billion from the Kashagan partners. That’s mostly related to lost revenue, but also includes claims for environmental violations and deals that state alleged were tainted by corruption.

ExxonMobil Holdings Corp. is one of the major partners in NCOC alongside Eni SpA, Shell Plc, TotalEnergies SE, KazMunayGas National Co., China National Petroleum Corp. and Inpex Corp.

Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry and NCOC didn’t respond to requests for comment. ExxonMobil, Shell, TotalEnergies, KazMunayGas and Inpex declined to comment. CNPC and Eni didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration, which is based in the Hague, the Netherlands didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Kashagan was one of the biggest oil discoveries in decades, but its development brought numerous technical challenges — from a sea that is frozen for almost half the year to a reservoir that contains high concentrations of poisonous gas. Companies invested about $55 billion to develop the offshore field, which produced an average of about 400,000 barrels a day last year.

Kashagan pumped its first oil in September 2013 — eight years later than targeted and $45 billion over the initial budget — only to shut down a month later after leaks were detected in a pipeline. Production was restarted in 2016 by the North Caspian Operating Co., the joint venture that runs the field.

ExxonMobil has told Kazakhstan that a potential $80 billion joint investment to expand the Kashagan oil field it pitched earlier is contingent on resolving the long-running arbitration dispute. The proposed investment, in an equal joint venture with state-owned KazMunayGas National Co., would tap the undeveloped western part of the massive Kashagan oil reservoir, potentially producing as much as 600,000 barrels a day.