An ecological organization in Kazakhstan said on Tuesday that a large oil spill had been captured by satellite imagery in the northern Caspian Sea near Kazakhstan's giant Kashagan oil field.
Galina Chernova of the Globus environmental organization posted on Facebook that a slick of around 7 sq km (2.7 sq miles) had formed, citing images from Sentinel-1A, a European satellite.
Kashagan, one of Kazakhstan's largest oil fields, is being developed by the North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC) consortium, which includes Shell, Eni, TotalEnergies and ExxonMobil.
The Kazakh energy ministry, the consortium and the environment ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters questions about the alleged spill.
The ecology department of Kazakhstan's Atyrau region, which borders the Caspian, said it would conduct a visual inspection and take samples at the oil production site.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)