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NUR-SULTAN, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan and Russia have
agreed on compensation of $15 per barrel for the contamination
of Kazakh crude shipped through the pipelines of Russia's
Transneft, Kazakh Energy Minister Kanat Bozumbayev
told Reuters on Thursday.
Three industry sources told Reuters earlier this year that
compensation based on that figure would amount to $76 million,
including payment for quality loss, demurrage and storage costs.
"They just need to finalise the negotiations with producers
and that is it," Bozumbayev said on the sidelines of an energy
conference, adding that Transneft would not demand additional
proof of losses from Kazakh shippers.
News of the contamination broke in late April when buyers
from the Baltic port of Ust-Luga and along the Druzhba pipeline
to Germany, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus and the
Czech Republic discovered chemicals in the oil.
Up to 5 million tonnes of tainted Russian oil had by then
been shipped from Ust-Luga via Druzhba to central Europe before
flows were suspended. The volumes included some 700,000 tonnes
of Kazakh oil mainly bought by trading house Vitol.
STABLE OUTPUT
Kazakhstan, whose oil output has been disrupted this year by
maintenance at some of its biggest fields, plans no significant
halts in 2020 and aims to produce 90 million tonnes, Bozumbayev
said.
"There will only be some short-term works," he said.
The Central Asian nation planned to produce 89 million
tonnes of crude this year, although Bozumbayev said this month
that it could beat its own forecast.
Earlier on Thursday, Bozumbayev told the Kazenergy
conference that Kazakh oil output would remain stable at around
1.8-1.9 million barrels per day until 2023, after which it might
grow significantly.
The former Soviet republic is participating in a global
output-reduction agreement among the Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries and fellow non-OPEC producers that
is due to remain in force until March next year.
Kazakhstan does not rule out that its long-running dispute
with foreign shareholders in the Karachaganak project will be
settled out of court, Bozumbayev added.
He said arbitration continued in the dispute with the
consortium led by Shell and Eni that is
developing the Karachaganak gas condensate field, one of
Kazakhstan's biggest.
Kazakhstan filed a $1.6 billion claim against foreign firms
developing Karachaganak in 2015, Russia’s Lukoil -
another consortium member - has said. Kazakhstan has said it was
not receiving its fair share of profit.
A year ago, the two sides said they were close to a
settlement, with the consortium set to pay Kazakhstan $1.1
billion and give it a greater share of future revenues - but the
deal remains to be finalised.
"The final (arbitration) hearings will take place in
October. They will start next week," Bozumbayev said.
"Arbitrators usually take no more than half a year (to deliver a
judgment). But maybe we will settle it before that."
(Reporting by Mariya Gordeyeva and Alla Afanasyeva; Additional
reporting by Tamara Vaal; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by
Dale Hudson and Jason Neely)