Court ruling orders NCOC and Agip to pay 134 billion in environmental fines

By Saule Tasboulatova

Press service of Atyrau Oblast Court reports that the specialized inter-district economic court of Atyrau Oblast have finished the judicial hearings concerning the statements made by Agip Kazakhstan North Caspian Operating Company B. V. (Agip) and North Caspian Operating Company B. V. (NCOC). The companies filed an appeal against the instructions issued by the regional department of ecology about compensation of damage in the amount of 134 billion tenge based on the results of environmental audits after leaks occurred on Kashagan gas pipeline.

“On April 29, 2014, the court refused to satisfy claims made by NCOC and Agip, and the acts of the Ecology Department of Atyrau Oblast being appealed, were upheld”, - reads the press release circulated by the regional court.

The court ruling hasn’t taken legal effect yet. The claimants intend to appeal against the decision of the economic court in the higher judicial instances.

To recall, as the result of several leaks on gas pipeline running from D Island at Kashagan field to Bolashak processing unit, 2.8 mln cubic meters of sour gas had been flared. According to the latest information provided by NCOC both gas and oil pipelines require full replacement.