OREANDA-NEWS. August 21, 2007. Kazkahstan Prime Minister Karim Massimov instructed the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources to take measures regarding the subsurface users breaching the environment legislation and non-fulfilling the earlier undertaken obligations at Kashagan oilfield, reported the Official website http://en.government.kz.


Kazkahstan Prime Minister Karim Massimov instructed the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources to take measures regarding the subsurface users breaching the environment legislation and non-fulfilling the earlier undertaken obligations at Kashagan oilfield.

”Works on Kashagan can be totally suspended. Currently we are carrying out a routine audit and we have all reasons to assume the operator has not been observing the environment legislation currently in effect in Kazakhstan. We have notified the General Prosecutor Office on this”, Environment Minister Nurlan Iskakov announced at the government’s sitting.

”Moreover, taking into account the non-performance of the earlier undertaken obligations, we are obliged by the law to withdraw the permit as further operations may inflict irreparable damage on the environment”, the Environment Minister said. “We are sending respective materials to the Kazakh Energy Ministry today to take a decision on suspension of works at Kashagan”.

”We are instructing the Kazakh Energy Ministry B. Izmukhambetov to attend to the issue today and take measures prescribed by the Kazakh  legislation”, said Prime Minister in his turn.