A brawl between Kazakh workers and their Arab colleagues in one of Kazakhstan’s largest oil fields has left 30 people injured and led to an outcry in Lebanon and Jordan.
Interfax-Kazakhstan said Saturday’s brawl was triggered after a Lebanese contractor reportedly posted a photo on WhatsApp featuring a Kazakh female colleague that many in the country saw as insulting.
It reported on Sunday that the field is managed by Tengizchevroil, TCO, a joint venture that includes Chevron and ExxonMobil.
Nurlan Nogayev, the governor of Atyrau region, said during a meeting with company management that the brawl resulted from disparities in working conditions between foreign contractors and local Kazakh employees.
According to Lebanese and Jordanian officials the injured engineers and workers are Lebanese, Jordanians and Palestinians.