Nathan Reynoso 
7 August 2026
ALMATY, Kazakhstan – On July 29, 2026, environmental defenders won a lawsuit against the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Kazakhstan and were “promised” access to a 2025 hydroecological and hydrogeological study concerning Kokzhide’s sand massif and aquifer.
Prior to the lawsuit, Kazakhstani environmental defenders contacted the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Energy, and the Ministry of Water Resources for eight months, demanding access to the study, which they believe is relevant to all Kazakhstani citizens. Kokzhide is a strategic water reserve, which is critical for current and future generations. It has the capacity to meet the drinking water needs of 2.4 million people in Kazakhstan, which is around 10% of the country’s total population, including all of western Kazakhstan. The aquifer’s ultra-fresh water is currently being used for oil production, threatening this unique natural object, which is a specially protected nature reserve.
The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources denied the defenders’ request for access to the report, stating that it was for official use only and might contain confidential information. This claim was debunked during the court proceedings. In April 2026, the activists sued the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, asking the Almaty specialized interregional administrative court to review the denial and oblige the defendant to provide the plaintiff, S. Solyanik, with a copy of the report, “Hydroecological and hydrogeological study within the territory of Kokzhide sand massif.”
“The court recognized that the study is environmental information, that society has the right to access it, and that the Ministry of Ecology’s denial was illegal. Through this case, we have created a precedent in which the court underscored the importance of the Aarhus Convention and national legislation of Kazakhstan, which guarantee the right to access to and distribution of environmental information. This is an important win, and we are pleased with the court’s decision,” said Solyanik.
The Kokzhide aquifer has been historically polluted by oil production at the Kokzhide oil field, operated by China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC, China), KMK Munai (China), Ada Oil (South Korea), Kazakhoil Aktobe (Kazakhstan), and Urikhtau Operating (Kazakhstan). In 2023, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources acknowledged that environmental problems caused by oil extraction from the over 300 oil wells at the field were critically endangering the aquifer. The authorities officially decreed that all of the wells would be decommissioned by 2031, but the process has been stalled. The Government of Kazakhstan decided that a halt in oil production was unacceptable and instructed KazEnergy, an oil and gas energy company association, to conduct a comprehensive study of Kokzhide to determine a “safe” approach to oil production. KazEnergy commissioned the study to K. Satbayev KazNITU (Satbayev University).
Upon concluding the study, K. Satbayev KazNITU announced that although there was pollution from several wells on the field, there was no systematic pollution at Kokzhide, and thus, recommended that oil extraction could continue at the field without risking clean water production.
The Kokzhide aquifer is an ultra-pure groundwater deposit, with reserves currently estimated at 173,400 m³/day. At the same time, Kokzhide has suprasalt and sub-salt oil reserves in extraction, which account for approximately 0.7% of national oil production and 1.2% of total national natural gas production.
The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources has two months to file an appeal of the court decision.
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For more information, please contact:
Kate Watters, Executive Director
kate@crudeaccountability.org
Visit Crude Accountability’s Tracking Methane Pollution campaign, to learn more about our work at Kokzhide to deliver transparent methane and pollution data reporting.