Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy and Dunga Operating GmbH have resolved a long-running dispute over nonrecoverable historical costs at the Dunga oil field. The investors will provide agreed financial compensation to the state and invest in a new phase of development, the ministry reported.
An agreement settling disputes related to the production sharing agreement (PSA) was signed by Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov and Dunga Operating GmbH CEO Nurzhan Abdirakhmanov, with representatives of the PSA, a government-created Kazakh entity, and national oil and gas company KazMunayGas (KMG) participating. The document will subsequently be submitted to the consortium’s foreign partners, Oman Oil Company Limited of Oman and France’s TotalEnergies.
Read also: Kazakhstan pledges cautious revision of production sharing agreements with oil majors.
The agreement paves the way for a new development plan for the Dunga field covering 2026-2039. The plan calls for capital and operating investments aimed at producing 67.4 million barrels of oil.
New development plan
Akkenzhenov said the Dunga field has significant potential and is strategically important to Kazakhstan’s energy sector. He said development of the project had long been hindered by unresolved issues over nonrecoverable costs, adding that the agreement protects the state’s economic interests while avoiding lengthy litigation and creates the conditions for a new investment cycle.
The Dunga oil and gas field is located in the Tupkaragan district of the Mangystau region. The field was discovered in 1966, and full-scale development began in 2007.
Reserves and ownership
Geological reserves at the Dunga field exceed 106 million tons of oil and 6 billion cubic meters of gas. In 2025, the field produced 677,300 tons of oil, up from 630,000 tons in 2024, as well as more than 51 million cubic meters of gas.
The project is being developed under a PSA signed May 1, 1994, between the investors and the government of Kazakhstan. In 2023, KMG acquired a 60% stake in the project from France’s TotalEnergies for $330 million.
The current project participants are Dunga Operating GmbH (60%), Oman Oil Company Limited (20%) and PTTEP Corporation (20%).
SOCAR interest
In October 2025, Kursiv.media reported that Azerbaijan’s state oil company, SOCAR, might become a participant in the Dunga oil and gas project in Kazakhstan.
