British oil and gas company Nostrum Oil & Gas announced on the Astana International Exchange (AIX) that it is in talks to sell its Kazakhstan business, with all of the company’s assets located in the country. The company said it has received interest from a potential buyer.
According to Nostrum Oil & Gas, the potential buyer and the company are conducting due diligence, including a review of the business’s financial condition and assets, while discussing potential terms of the transaction.
In recent years, Nostrum Oil & Gas has held talks with several potential buyers of its assets. However, those negotiations did not progress beyond preliminary discussions, and the proposed offers were significantly below the group’s total debt. The company has previously restructured its debt.
Debt weighs on potential sale
The company’s primary motivation for selling its Kazakhstan business is its lack of profitability amid significant debt. Nostrum Oil & Gas’ net debt rose to $576.2 million in the first quarter of 2026, from $541.5 million as of Dec. 31, 2025.
In its 2025 financial statements, the company said it was planning another debt restructuring, which it expects would support its future growth.
Nostrum Oil & Gas’ primary asset is its wholly owned subsidiary, Zhaikmunai. The subsidiary is currently involved in a dispute with Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Finance over $71 million in tax claims related to 2018-2020.
In May 2026, a court of first instance rejected the company’s appeal against the tax authorities’ claims. The company said it planned to continue pursuing the case.
As part of the tax dispute, restrictions were imposed on company assets that serve as collateral for loans, preventing Nostrum Oil & Gas from carrying out another debt restructuring.
Sale could repay secured debt
Nostrum Oil & Gas said that if the proposed transaction is agreed upon and completed on the terms currently under discussion, the company would be able to fully repay its secured bonds and partially repay its unsecured bonds. However, it does not expect shareholders to receive significant payments for their securities.
If the transaction and debt restructuring fail, the company’s management plans to discuss alternative options with creditors, including a potential bankruptcy filing.
Nostrum Oil & Gas warned that under such a scenario, creditors could receive amounts «significantly lower» than the par value of the bonds.
Kazakhstan assets and production
Zhaikmunai operates the Chinarevskoye oil and gas condensate field and the Stepnoy Leopard field group in western Kazakhstan.
In 2025, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy said exploration work needed to be intensified at the Teplovsko-Tokarevskoye and Kamenskoye (Stepnoy Leopard) fields, which are being developed by Positive Invest, another Nostrum Oil & Gas subsidiary.
Production at the Chinarevskoye field, along with the processing of crude oil from Ural Oil and Gas, increased to 18,000 barrels per day in Q1 2026, up from 16,800 barrels in the same period of 2025.
Largest shareholders
As of the end of 2025, Nostrum Oil & Gas’ largest shareholders were Westal Holdings Ltd., with a 24.88% stake; RD Energy Caspian Holdings Limited, with 18.88%; Amundi (UK) Limited and Amundi Asset Management, with a combined 9.74%; and Armstrong Investments Limited, with 6.89%.
