Chevron Corp.'s Kazakh venture, TengizChevroil LLP, will dispute a $610 million environmental fine the government is seeking to impose for ``excessive'' stockpiles of sulfur from oil production.
The Atyrau regional court hasn't yet ruled on the Ecology Ministry's claim, which was made in July, Maria Karazhigitova, TengizChevroil's spokeswoman, said today by telephone in Almaty. ``We work in accordance with Kazakh legislation and didn't violate the norms,'' Karazhigitova said.
No decision on the fine has yet been made, Nursapa Primashev, the head of the Atyrau court, said by telephone today.
TengizChevroil, Kazakhstan's biggest oil producer, said in August that any payments for sulfur stockpiles would already have been covered by the fees it paid for its environmental permits, issued annually by the authorities.
The venture aims to sell sulfur it recovers from the crude it pumps in the Caspian Sea state, which holds 3.3 percent of the world's proven oil reserves and 2 percent of its natural gas.
In April, Chevron's Kazakh venture agreed to spend $866 million on environmental improvements from 2007 through 2010, averting the suspension of its license. The company has invested $1.2 billion in environmental projects in Kazakhstan in the last eight years.
(Bloomberg)