Uzbekneftegaz, with the support of the Business Ombudsman, has secured a sharp reduction in environmental compensation payments, the Business Ombudsman’s office reported.
The Main Department of Ecology and Climate Change of Kashkadarya region filed a lawsuit with the Karshi Economic Court against the Shurtan Oil and Gas Production Department, part of Uzbekneftegaz. The environmental authority sought to recover 8.8 billion soums from the state-owned company as compensation for environmental damage.
The Business Ombudsman represented the company in court to protect its rights. During the proceedings, the court found that the supervisory authority had “gone beyond the scope of the inspection” and that the calculations underlying most of the claim were not supported by sufficient evidence.
The court also considered the inadmissibility of evidence obtained in violation of the law. It reviewed the Business Ombudsman’s arguments regarding the legality of the inspection and the validity of the compensation amount.
Following the proceedings, the court rejected most of the claim. Only 676,133 soums is to be recovered — 13,000 times less than the original amount.
In April, the State Inspectorate for Environmental Control reported several serious violations at the Shurtan Oil and Gas Production Department. Inspectors found excessive atmospheric emissions, dust and gas purification equipment that did not meet standards, as well as illegal discharge of wastewater and waste.
Following the inspection, inspectors issued 16 mandatory orders for corrective action. Additional compensation payments were also imposed, after which the case materials were submitted to court.
The English version of this material was generated with the assistance of AI translation tools and may differ slightly from the original text.
