Tag Archives: business

Despite promises, oil output falls in Azerbaijan

SEPT. 30 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s oil production fell by 3.1% between January and August this year compared to the same period in 2014, a source at the state’s Statistics Committee told Reuters, more bad news for the government as it tries to work out a strategy to deal with a regional economic downturn.

Oil exports are the mainstay of the Azerbaijan economy, and a collapse in oil prices over the past year has hit it hard.

It has cut government projects, slashed the value of its currency by a third and warned of low growth rates for the next couple of years.

Alongside the decline in revenue earned from exports, Azerbaijan is also dealing with a drop in production. This drop is mainly linked to a slowdown in production at the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) fields which are operated by BP.

The source told Reuters that Azerbaijan had produced 22.1m tonnes of oil in the first eight months of the year compared to 22.8m tonnes in 2014.

BP has tried to increase outflows from ACG over the past couple of years but without success, drawing criticism from Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 250, published on Oct. 2 2015)

Hotel prices in Azerbaijan’s capital slash

SEPT. 28 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — In an effort to prop up the tourism industry, Abulfas Garayev, Azerbaijan’s minister of culture and tourism forced a number of hotels to reduce prices, local media reported. Baku invested heavily in new hotels ahead of hosting the European Games earlier this year. “Artificially inflated prices were reduced after a ministerial inspection. Prices have been reduced by about 10-15%,” media quoted Mr Garayev as saying.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 250, published on Oct. 2 2015)

Cell repays loan to Kazakh banks

SEPT. 28 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kcell, one of the biggest players in Kazakhstan’s telecoms market, appears to re-organising its debt. It repaid a syndicated loan worth 14.8b tenge ($55m) to Citibank Kazakhstan and RBS Kazakhstan, days after opening a 17b credit line with Kazkommertsbank. Sweden- based TeliaSonera owns 62% of Kcell. It said last month that it wants to quit Eurasian markets.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 250, published on Oct. 2 2015)

OPEC asks Kazakhstan for oil cut

SEPT. 30 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Vladimir Shkolnik, the Kazakh energy minister, said OPEC members asked Kazakhstan to cut its oil production in a coordinated attempt to increase oil prices. Kazakhstan has said oil production would be slightly lower this year.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 250, published on Oct. 2 2015)

Kazakhstan to cut in tax for oil producers

SEPT. 29 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Kazakh government has said it is considering cutting taxes for oil producers to encourage them to raise output. Some energy companies operating in Kazakhstan, especially the smaller ones, have said they will not produce oil until prices recover. Kazakhstan has cut its projected oil production in 2015 by 1m tonnes to 79.5m tonnes.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 250, published on Oct. 2 2015)

FM highlights Azerbaijan’s global energy role

SEPT. 30 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Highlighting Azerbaijan’s enhanced role in the global energy system, foreign minister Elmar Mammadyarov said in a speech at the UN General Assembly in New York that the country had become a “crucial player” in the system. Europe wants to increase imports of gas from Azerbaijan.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 250, published on Oct. 2 2015)

Veolia wants Armenian water

SEPT. 30 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Veolia, the French utilities company, is looking to extend its control of Armenia’s water and sewage systems, Gor Grigoryan, CEO of Yerevan Jur which is already managed by a Veolia subsidiary, said. Armenia is re-organising its water and sewage companies. Next year, Yerevan Jur will merge with the Armenian Water and Sewage Company. There are three other similar companies in Armenia.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 250, published on Oct. 2 2015)

Chinese company starts construction in Uzbekistan

SEPT. 29 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Chinese manufacturer Poly Technologies said that it had started construction at a new rubber plant in Uzbekistan. During the ceremony at the Angren Special Industrial Zone, Gulomjon Ibragimov, Uzbekistan’s deputy PM said the project would improve rubber production capacity in the country.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 250, published on Oct. 2 2015)

Divisa Capital enters Armenia

OCT. 1 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — UK-based Divisa Capital bought Laboratory of Financial Technologies, an Armenian financial services provider, for an undisclosed amount. Mushegh Tovmasyan, CEO of Divisa Capital, said that he wanted to use the company’s new Armenian foothold to target the Eurasian market.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 250, published on Oct. 2 2015)

YouTube kicks off in Kazakhstan

SEPT. 30 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Google launched youtube.kz, a Kazakh language version of video streaming service YouTube. Maxim Machkasau, development manager for Google in Kazakhstan, said: “YouTube is very popular in Kazakhstan, especially among people aged 18-24 years.” But social media has come under scrutiny in Kazakhstan for being used by radicals to spread extremist Islamic propaganda.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 250, published on Oct. 2 2015)