ASTANA: A Kazakh court on Friday fined a consortium of oil companies over $6 million for excessive gas flaring from a giant oilfield under the Caspian Sea.

The Central Asian country has stepped up fines on environmental violators in recent years, as it seeks to placate concerns about pollution while also exploiting its immense natural resources.

The North Caspian Ope­r­ating Company — a group that includes Shell, Exxon Mobil, China’s CNPC and TotalEnergies — was fined 3.5 billion tenge ($6.6 million) in damages “for excessive unauthorised flaring” at the vast Kasha­gan oilfield, Astana’s court service said.

Flaring is the burning off of excess gas that comes from the ground during oil drilling. It is carried out for safety reasons but the process often releases harmful environmental pollutants into the air.

The Kashagan oil reservoir is one of the largest oil discoveries in recent decades, containing the equivalent of about nine to 13 billion barrels of recoverable oil, according to the North Caspian Operating Company.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2025