MAY 11 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s government scrubbed the Armenian flag from a photo posted on its website of a parade in Moscow to mark the 70th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany by the Soviet Union, media reported. Azerbaijan and Armenia are still officially at war over Nagorno-Karabakh.
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(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)
MAY 12 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan and Turkey began joint military exercises, underling their close alliance and highlighting just how isolated Armenia is. Media reported that the drills would continue until May 16. Azerbaijan and Turkey share an animosity for Armenia.
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(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)
MAY 12 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – A court in Baku rejected an appeal by journalist Khadija Ismayilova against a conviction for libel in February. Ms Ismayilova is in prison waiting for her trial to begin for coaxing another journalist into a suicide attempt. Her supporters have said that the charges are fabricated.
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(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)
MAY 13 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan will start producing AI-95 grade petrol from 2018 to meet higher demand, said the vice president of the state- owned energy company SOCAR, David Mammadov. Azerbaijan currently produces AI-92, a lower grade of fuel. The government has been pushing people to buy more modern cars.
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(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)
MAY 13 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Oil produced by BP’s Azeri- Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) fields in the first quarter of the year inched up to average of 661,000 barrels per day from 645,800 barrels per day during the same period last year, BP-Azerbaijan said.
This increase, although small, is important. BP has been under increasing pressure from Azerbaijan to reverse a decline in output at ACG, the principal driver of Azerbaijani oil production.
For the past couple of years BP has spent millions and replaced various management teams trying to stem the decline in output at ACG.
It now appears to be working, and overall Azerbaijani oil production is rising as a consequence.
Earlier this month BP also said that it was going to suspend operations at one of the ACG platforms for repairs. This should dent ACG output in the short term.
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(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)
MAY 8 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The chairman of Azerbaijan’s state energy company Rovnag Abdullayev said the country could produce up to 40b cubic metres of gas a year, state- linked media reported. This would propel Azerbaijan into the top tier of global producers.
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(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)
MAY 8 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said it will give a syndicated loan for the second phase development of the Caspian Sea Shah Deniz gas project. EBRD President Suma Chakrabarti said on a visit to Baku that the size and timeframe were undecided.
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(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)
MAY 4 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – At a meeting of Azerbaijani, Turkish and Georgian defence officials, the three countries said they were moving towards a trilateral defence agreement. The countries have held a series of meetings this year to try and work out the protocol for a deal. Any deal would isolate Armenia further.
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(News report from Issue No. 230, published on May 6 2015)
MAY 1 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s State Oil Fund said its assets had dropped by 5% in the first three months of the year compared to the same period in 2014. Azerbaijan’s government is trying to push its way through a regional economic downturn and has said it will dip into its reserves to support various projects.
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(News report from Issue No. 230, published on May 6 2015)
MAY 6 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Azerbaijan have signed a Memorandum of Understanding worth $1b to modernise the country’s power distribution network, media reported. The ADB will give three tranches of $250m, totalling $750m, and Azerbaijan will provide the final $250m.
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(News report from Issue No. 230, published on May 6 2015)