ASTANA, Kazakhstan, July 21 (UPI) -- Kazakhstan accuses shareholders of the Tengiz oil field of producing more oil than contracts specify as part of a possible takeover bid, an analysis suggests.
Financial authorities in Kazakhstan accuse Exxon Mobil, Chevron and other shareholders in the giant oil field of producing $1 billion more in oil than contracts allow at the Tengiz field, a review of the Kazakh oil sector in the news magazine Foreign Policy stated.
The move, the report suggests, is part of a pressure tactic by Astana meant to acquire a larger stake in its domestic oil production.
Kazakhstan, meanwhile, is seeking to acquire a stake in the Karachaganak oil and natural gas field, which is owned by BG Group, Italian energy company ENI, U.S. supermajor Chevron and Russia's Lukoil. Kazakhstan, Foreign Policy said, is chasing after a stake in Karachaganak that is around 15 percent, roughly the size of Lukoil's.
The Central Asian republic is threatening to break production sharing agreements with the shareholders and accusing them of fraud at Karachaganak.
The report describes Kazakhstan's moves as a "time-tested regional approach" in energy-rich Central Asia.
