Buzachi Neft Began Paying 2.2 Billion Tenge Fine for Massive Methane Leak

Buzachi Neft LLC will pay its designated penalty in installments, an arrangement made with the Ministry of Energy, Orda reports, citing the Mangystau Region Prosecutor's Office.

The company made its first payment of 270 million tenge on December 17, 2024.

In addition, earlier, at the request of the same Prosecutor’s Office, Buzachi Neft LLC was fined 362 million tenge for violating environmental regulations in connection with the incident that took place, which was paid in full, the report says.

In September 2024, Almaty's specialized inter-district economic court ordered the company to pay over 2.2 billion tenge in damages plus a fee exceeding 68 million tenge for the accident at the Karaturun Yuzhny field.

The incident resulted in one of the world's largest methane leaks, followed by a well fire that burned for 200 days - from June 9 to December 25, 2023.

Experts calculated that 127 thousand tons of methane escaped, with an environmental impact equivalent to the annual emissions of 717 thousand gasoline cars.

While the company initially claimed it was only a minor leak, the scale was so massive that researchers could detect it from space.

Original Author: Raushan Korzhumbekova