MARCH 26 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkish energy company Turcas is considering selling most of its 18.5% stake in the Star oil refinery operated by Azerbaijan’s state energy company SOCAR, media reported. The Star refinery is one of SOCAR’s biggest overseas projects. It is currently being built in Izmir on the Mediterranean coast.
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(News report from Issue No. 178, published on April 2 2014)
MARCH 27 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — The results of tests into gas pipeline leaks at the Kashagan oil project in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea are expected in April, Reuters quoted a Kashagan spokesman as saying. Kashagan shut down in October, shortly after it opened, frustrating the government.
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(News report from Issue No. 178, published on April 2 2014)
MARCH 27 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Arman Sahakian, an Armenian MP, said that roughly 600 Armenian families fled from Kessab, a town in Syria, last month after Islamic extremists captured it, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported. Armenia’s government has said it’s concerned about the fate of Armenians living there.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 178, published on April 2 2014)
APRIL 1 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan’s parliament confirmed the new governing coalition would be made up of the same partners as the previous one — the Social Democratic Party, Ar-Namys and Ata-Meken.
The only apparent difference is the PM who is likely to be Djoomart Otorbayev, a deputy prime minister in the last two coalition governments.
But Mr Otorbayev is already a divisive choice. He is a former World Bank technocrat and in Kyrgyzstan’s partisan politics that sits uncomfortably with many.
What he lacks, decried Kyrgyz MP Jusupali Isayev, is a certain Kyrgyz-ness. Mr Isayev said that his World Bank training is all very well but Mr Otorbayev is out-of-touch with ordinary Kyrgyz as he doesn’t know how to keep livestock or dry apricots.
Indeed, Mr Otorbayev has already signalled where he lies on the central debate in Kyrgyzstan between nationalist policies and attracting essential foreign investment, when he said that he would not look to re-negotiate a new deal with Toronto-based Centerra Gold over the Kumtor gold mine.
In February, the Kyrgyz government and Centerra Gold agreed a 50:50 ownership deal of the gold mine.
Kumtor is key to the Kyrgyz economy. It currently accounts for 10% of GDP.
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(News report from Issue No. 178, published on April 2 2014)
MARCH 25 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan has signalled that it is interested in closer ties to NATO, just weeks after the de facto Russian annexation of Crimea.
Media reported that the Azerbaijani government wants to increase the number of officers it has serving at NATO offices around the world.
It has also submitted an updated version of its so-called Individual Partnership Action Plan with NATO to cover 2014 and 2015. This is really just part of a process to allow Azerbaijan to work with NATO on various projects but in the current geopolitical climate it is important.
Crimea has thrown up various headaches for countries in the former Soviet Union. They want to work with Russia but they don’t want to be dominated by their former colonial master.
Azerbaijan’s relationship with Russia has been strained over the past couple of years. They have rowed over gas supplies. Azerbaijan has boosted its output to Europe, angering Moscow. In January, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev visited NATO HQ in Brussels, underling his commitment to the Western military alliance.
For NATO, Azerbaijan has been an important partner recently.
It not only has 90 soldiers in Afghanistan supporting NATO forces, but it has also played a role in the supply route from Europe to Afghanistan. Roughly 40% of so-called non-lethal cargo for NATO forces in Afghanistan passes through Azerbaijan.
Since the mid-2000s, Azerbaijan has gently re-aligned its foreign policy towards NATO. Although not as enthusiastic a NATO aspirant as neighbouring Georgia, Azerbaijan has said it is keen to extend its peace-keeping responsibilities.
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(News report from Issue No. 177, published on March 26 2014)
MARCH 25 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Halyk Bank, Kazakhstan’s second largest lender, said net profit rose by 3.5% to $398m in 2013, good news for the Kazakh finance sector. Importantly, also, Halyk Bank said the ratio of so-called non-performing loans had reduced slightly.
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(News report from Issue No. 177, published on March 26 2014)
MARCH 24 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — A joint Tajik-Kyrgyz commission is discussing land swaps to reduce tension along their border, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported (March 24). Tension along the border has escalated this year. A shootout between Tajik and Kyrgyz border guards earlier this year killed several people.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 177, published on March 26 2014)
MARCH 24 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan plans to spend $1b modernising its irrigation systems over the next five years, the state-linked UzDaily website reported. Uzbekistan’s Soviet-era water systems needs updating. Uzbekistan government’s is keen on delivering eye-catching initiatives, although their effectiveness is questionable.
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(News report from Issue No. 177, published on March 26 2014)
MARCH 21 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan threw its support behind the Crimea referendum, saying the vote reflected the will of the people. Crimea voted overwhelmingly to cede from Ukraine and join Russia earlier this month. Kyrgyzstan supported the overthrow of former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich but had been careful not to offend Russia.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 177, published on March 26 2014)
MARCH 24 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — When Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon headed to his home province of Khatlon to celebrate the Nowruz spring holiday he found time to, possibly at least, take part in an important part of Tajikistan’s modern history.
He joined Fan Xianrong, China’s ambassador in Dushanbe, at the official opening ceremony to build Tajikistan’s first oil refinery.
The facility could process up to 1.2m tonnes of crude annually, mirroring the potential of a similar Chinese-built plant in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan.
The Kyrgyz refinery is ready to begin production but has faced persistent protests and inflated compensation claims from locals concerned about the environmental impact. On March 24, Kyrgyzstan’s environmental agency finally ruled the refinery was not in breach of domestic environmental laws.
When they are up and running these refineries may help break the Russian energy grip over Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan and produce enough supply to feed domestic demand.
The crude oil for the Kyrgyz refinery could be sourced via a spur from the China-Kazakhstan pipeline, while Beijing’s CNPC is working on upstream oil projects in Tajikistan.
For China, building a refinery and controlling crude oil supplies is an effective way of securing influence over regional governments.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 177, published on March 26 2014)