Kazakhstan wins legal case against an American oil company

As Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Justice reported, the country has won a case in an arbitration court against Big Sky Energy Corporation. The decision of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), an international arbitration institution entered into force on March 25, when the deadline for appeal had expired.

Big Sky had tried to make the Republic of Kazakhstan pay $460 million of compensation for contracts with third parties not linked to the government.

«Big Sky had tried to claim restitution from the state of Kazakhstan based on alleged violations of the US-Kazakhstan investment agreement,» said the ministry.

The ICSID made its decision on the case on November 24, 2021. The arbitration court refused to support claims by Big Sky and ruled that the company should reimburse Kazakhstan about $575 of legal costs. However, according to Kanat Musin, minister of justice, Big Sky hasn’t paid anything to Kazakhstan yet.