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A subsidiary of Halliburton Co. has become the target of a criminal probe in Kazakhstan
over a customs dispute, Reuters reported. Kazakh customs officials say the Houston-based
company must pay $230 million in customs fees.
Halliburton’s Kazakhstan operations reportedly violated customs laws
by shifting imported equipment to operations that were not exempt from customs
duties.
Halliburton, the world’s No. 2 oil services company, has worked in Kazakhstan
for Agip, Kazakhoil Aktobe and Tengizchevroil (TCO), the joint venture between
Exxon Mobil, Chevron Corp. and KazmunayGas. Agip and TCO are exempted from customs
duties and taxes. Equipment brought in to the country as part of those companies’
operations is also exempted.
However, an audit by customs officials showed Halliburton imported goods that
were being used on other projects, which resulted in the criminal case.
The company said it was cooperating with the customs investigation into its
operations there.
Energy companies have flocked to Kazakhstan in recent years to take advantage
of the country’s access to the Caspian Sea’s oil reserves.
The country accounts for about two-thirds of the Caspian’s 1.5 million
barrels per day of oil production, and is estimated to have reserves of between
9 billion to 17.6 billion barrels.
Analysts have said they expect Kazakhstan’s oil production to reach 4
million barrels per day by 2020, with most of the production coming from the
Tengiz, Karachaganak and Kashagan fields.
Much of the country’s oil is transported from Tengiz field to Russia’s
Black Sea port of Novorossisk via the pipeline owned by the Caspian Pipeline
Consortium.
