British oil company Nostrum Oil & Gas has announced negotiations to sell its Kazakhstan business, according to infohub.kz. In a statement on the AIX exchange, the company said a potential buyer has expressed interest and the parties have begun due diligence and discussions on deal terms.
"During 2026, one of the potential buyers expressed renewed interest in acquiring the group's business, and the group is now engaging with this interested party in a due diligence process and discussing possible transaction terms. Negotiations are ongoing; no binding agreement has been reached," the notice said.
In recent years, Nostrum Oil has held talks with several potential buyers, but they have not progressed beyond preliminary discussions, and the amounts offered were significantly below the group's total debt, which had already been restructured.
The key motive for the sale is the unprofitability of the business amid substantial debt. Nostrum Oil's net debt rose to $576.2 million as of the end of the first quarter of 2026, up from $541.5 million at the end of 2025. The company plans another debt restructuring to support development.
Its main asset is a 100% stake in subsidiary Zhaikmunai, which is contesting $71 million in tax claims from the Ministry of Finance for 2018–2020. In May 2026, a court of first instance rejected the company's appeal, but Zhaikmunai intends to continue litigation. Due to the tax dispute, restrictions have been placed on assets serving as collateral for loans, hindering a new restructuring.
Nostrum Oil believes that if the current deal is finalized on the terms being discussed, it will be able to fully repay secured bonds and partially repay unsecured ones, but no significant payments to shareholders are expected. If no deal or restructuring is reached, management plans to discuss alternatives with creditors, including bankruptcy, in which creditors would receive sums "significantly below" the face value of the bonds.
Zhaikmunai operates the Chinarevskoye oil, gas, and condensate field and the Stepnoy Leopard group of fields in western Kazakhstan. In 2025, the Energy Ministry noted the need to step up exploration on the Teplovsko-Tokarevskoye and Kamenskoye fields (part of Stepnoy Leopard), which are developed by Positive Invest (also owned by Nostrum Oil).
Production at the Chinarevskoye field and processing of raw materials from Ural Oil & Gas in the first quarter rose to 18,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, compared to 16,800 in the same period of 2025.
Major shareholders of Nostrum Oil as of the end of 2025 included Westal Holdings Ltd. (24.88%), RD Energy Caspian Holdings Limited (18.88%), Amundi (UK) Limited and Amundi Asset Management (9.74%), and Armstrong Investments Limited (6.89%).
In February 2023, Nostrum Oil completed a restructuring in which bondholders received 88.89% of common shares. During the restructuring, part of the debt was exchanged for new bonds worth $250 million and $300 million. The remaining debt is to be converted into new common shares, giving debt holders an 88.89% stake in the enlarged share capital.
Earlier, Zhaikmunai reported revenue of $32.8 million for January-March 2026, up 9.3% year-on-year.