Tag Archives: business

Exxon used Bahamas-based accounts for companies operating in the Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan

SEPT. 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) released previously confidential documents detailing companies linked to offshore accounts in the Bahamas, an update to the so-called Panama Papers.

The documents, obtained from the secretive Bahamas business registry, show connections between companies and intermediaries set up in the Bahamas tax haven in the Caribbean.

“There is much evidence to suggest that where you have secrecy in the offshore world you have the potential for wrongdoing” Gerard Ryle, the director of ICIJ, said in a statement.

Among South Caucasus and Central Asia-focused companies, ExxonMobil made extensive use of Bahamas-based companies for its operations in Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. The law firm Harry B. Sands, Lobosky & Co., based in Nassau, was the main intermediary for these accounts.

A company called Borjomi was also listed among Harry B. Sands, Lobosky & Co.’s customers. It is unclear if this company has connections with the Georgian water producer.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 297, published on Sept. 23 2016)

Turkmenistan opens new airport in Ashgabat shaped like a bird

SEPT. 17 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov opened a new airport in Ashgabat, which included a bird- shaped passenger terminal, that cost $2.3b to build and is capable of serving 17m passengers a year.

The airport, which the World Record Academy has called the world’s largest bird-shaped building, spans 364m.

Mr Berdymukhamedov wants the airport to become a key hub for pas- senger and cargo transit between Europe and Asia.

“The opening of the new international airport in Ashgabat will contribute to the full integration of Turkmenistan in the system of international relations,” a Turkmen government website wrote.

To achieve these ambitious goals, the government will have to relax some of its visa rules. Last year, only 110,000 foreigners visited Turkmenistan, according to Turkmen data.

Grandiose buildings, however, also serve as photo-ops and symbols of Mr Berdymukhamedov’s attempts to mould Turkmenistan’s image onto his own.

The near empty over-sized resort town of Avaza on the Caspian Sea shore, an indoor Ferris wheel considered the largest in the world and the largest hand-woven carpet all tell a similar story to that of the newly- unveiled airport.

The Guinness World Records said in 2013 that Ashgabat was the city with the greatest density of marble- clad buildings.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 297, published on Sept. 23 2016)

Kazakhstan sends Jupiter licence extension

SEPT. 19 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Australia-based Jupiter Energy said it received an extension from the Kazakh government for its exploration licence for Block 31, in the Mangistau region. Jupiter Energy, majority-owned by Australian finance services company Computershare Clearing, bought a licence for Block 31 from local company Zher Munai in 2008 for around $9m. The renewed licence will expire at the end of 2019.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 297, published on Sept. 23 2016)

Kazakh energy company appoints new head

SEPT. 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – KMG EP, the upstream branch of Kazakhstan’s state-owned oil and gas company Kazmunaigas, elected Igor Goncharov as its new chairman. Christopher Hopkinson, who had served as chairman since last year, resigned for family reasons. Like Mr Hopkinson, Mr Goncharov had long served in the ranks of Kazmunaigas. KMG EP has GDRs traded in London. Earlier this year, Kazmunaigas failed in its bid to take over more of the company.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 297, published on Sept. 23 2016)

Italian Snam to join Azerbaijan in DESFA purchase

SEPT. 21 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Italian gas distributor Snam will participate in the purchase of a 66% stake in the Greek gas network DESFA only if Azerbaijan’s state owned energy company SOCAR remains in the deal, industry sources told the Greek newspaper Energypress. Snam did not comment. SOCAR offered to buy 66% of DESFA for €400m ($446m) in 2013, but the European Commission blocked the deal, citing its regulations on market competition.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 297, published on Sept. 23 2016)

Kazakhstan gives Ozenmunaigas a tax break

ALMATY, SEPT. 16 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Ozenmunaigas, a loss- making subsidiary of Kazakhstan’s state-owned energy company KMG EP, was given a discount on the mineral extraction tax (MET), an important lifeline for a firm that employs over 14,000 workers in the oil-dependent west of the country.

In 2016, Ozenmunaigas will pay MET at a rate of 9%, compared to the 13% it paid last year at its Uzen and Karamandybas oil fields.

The company has lobbied the government hard for a tax break, saying that it couldn’t continue operations without what effectively amounts to state support. In 2011, a strike at Ozenmunaigas lasted months and eventually triggered clashes between police and demonstrators which killed at least 16 people. Since then, the government has prioritised keeping Ozenmunaigas in business in order to maintain social harmony.

The fields that Ozenmunaigas operates were established during the Soviet Union. Previously, company officials have said that they can only make a profit if oil prices are above $65/barrel.

This year, prices have rarely been higher than $45/barrel.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 297, published on Sept. 23 2016)

Petronas deals with Azerbaijan

SEPT. 19 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Malaysia’s oil and gas company Petronas signed a memorandum with Azerbaijan’s state-owned energy company SOCAR to develop the Goshadash offshore block. Goshadash is located in the Absheron archipelago in the Caspian Sea. Petronas is already active in Azerbaijan’s oil and gas sector, as it owns a 15.5% stake in the Shah Deniz gas field.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 297, published on Sept. 23 2016)

Armenian airline starts flight to Brussels

SEPT. 20 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenian carrier ArmWings will start a flight connection between Yerevan and Brussels in December. ArmWings, which does not yet have a website, said tickets can now be purchased at travel agents.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 297, published on Sept. 23 2016)

Kazakhstan to export gas to China

SEPT. 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Rustam Suleimanov, director at Kazakhstan’s state-gas distributor KazTransGas, said that the country is ready to export gas to China from Q4 2016. Over the past few years, Kazakhstan has built up transport capacity to link its gas fields with the main Central Asia- China pipeline, which has pumped gas from Turkmenistan since 2009. Kazakhstan will use Line C of the pipeline, which has a capacity of 20b cubic metres.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 297, published on Sept. 23 2016)

Belorussian firm in Turkmenistan suspends wage payment

SEPT. 20 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Belgorkhimprom, a Belarusian firm in charge of building the Garlyk mining and processing plant in eastern Turkmenistan, has not paid wages to its workers for three months, according to opposition website Alternative News of Turkmenistan. Belgorkhimprom has not commented. The Garlyk plant will mostly service state-owned Turkmenkali, which produces potash, a fertilizer. Economic hardships since the price of commodities collapsed in mid-2014 have delayed several industrial projects in Central Asia.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 297, published on Sept. 23 2016)