APRIL 21 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Dragon Oil, a small London-listed oil producer, increased output at its operation in Turkmenistan by 23% in Q1 2015 compared to Q1 2014, it said. Average production at its Cheleken field was just over 88,000 barrels a day between Jan. 1 and March 31.
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(News report from Issue No. 228, published on April 22 2015)
APRIL 21 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tengizchevroil, Kazakhstan’s largest oil producer and one of its most successful post-Soviet energy projects, said that it was slowing expansion plans in response to the drop in global oil prices.
The announcement is yet more disappointing news for Kazakhstan. It is trying to cope with a sharp economic downturn triggered by the combined impact of the fall in oil prices and also the Western-imposed sanctions on Russia which have had a knock-on effect in the rest of the former Soviet Union.
“Global oil prices have dropped significantly, so we responded by slowing the project down and cutting spending for 2015,” reports quoted Aidar Dosbayev, head of production at Tengizchevroil, as saying at a conference.
Tengizchevroil is vitally important to Kazakhstan. It wants to become one of the world’s top energy producers although the much-delayed Kashagan project has dented its ambitions. And the delay in starting up Kashagan has meant Kazakhstan’s oil output hinges on Tengizchevroil.
Tengizchvroil had said it planned an expansion that would boost output to 38m tonnes of oil a year by 2019, up from around 27m tonnes.
The oil price drop, though, has slowed planes, Mr Dosbayev said.
“Although we slow down the pace of the project and reduce costs, our commitments to Kazakhstan remain unchanged,” he said.
In the short-term, though, Kazakhstan’s income from the project will be reduced and job creation will be limited.
Chevron owns 50% of Tengizchevroil, ExxonMobil owns 25%, Kazmunaigas owns 20% and Lukoil owns 5%.
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(News report from Issue No. 228, published on April 22 2015)
APRIL 20 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Nationals from another 16 countries will be able to travel to Kazakhstan without a visa from July, media reported quoting Gulnar Kurbanbayeva, deputy head of the Chamber of Entrepreneurs. Ms Kurbanbayeva also said visa-free travel for 10 top investment countries would be extended.
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(News report from Issue No. 228, published on April 22 2015)
APRIL 21 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – A delegation from the Azerbaijani national railway company travelled to Ashgabat for talks with its Turkmen counterparts on developing a transport corridor, media reported. Turkmenistan wants to boost trade with Europe.
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(News report from Issue No. 228, published on April 22 2015)
APRIL 21 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia has delivered four Su-30SM fighter jets to Kazakhstan, media reported, part of a major overhaul of the Kazakh air force. By 2020, reports said, Kazakhstan is planning on buying another 32 fighter jets from Russia. Kazakhstan has spent billions upgrading its military.
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(News report from Issue No. 228, published on April 22 2015)
APRIL 16 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s oil exports in Q1 2015 increased by 3.7% from a year earlier, a source at the state statistics committee told Reuters. The source said a rise in output at the BP-operated Azeri, Chirag and Guneshli (ACG) oilfields had driven the overall rise. BP has been under pressure to stem a drop in output at ACG.
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(News report from Issue No. 228, published on April 22 2015)
APRIL 17 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia’s pharmaceuticals industry is growing fast, data from the statistics agency Geostat showed.
In 2014, Georgian pharmaceuticals companies exports to other CIS countries increased by nearly 50%, Geostat said.
A pharmaceuticals director at a local company said it was because domestic rules changed last year and meant that people needed prescriptions to buy more drugs. This in turn pushed pharmaceutical makers to find new markets for their drugs.
“The increase in exports was caused by the increased number of medication for export and if earlier the company sold 20 varieties of medicines abroad, today the list includes more than 50,” Boris Jijolava, export manager at Georgian pharmaceuticals maker GMP told the Caucasian Business Week website.
Geostat said the value of drugs exported by Georgian companies to the former Soviet Union increased to around $92m in 2014 from $52m in 2013.
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(News report from Issue No. 228, published on April 22 2015)
APRIL 21 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kcell, Kazakhstan’s largest mobile operator, said that Q1 income had fallen by 15% and its customer based had dropped by 3% because of an increase in competition.
Strikingly, Kcell’s CEO Arti Ots didn’t make an reference to the general economic downturn that has hit Kazakhstan in his comments on the Q1 results. This is important because most consumer orientated businesses in Kazakhstan have reported a drop in sales over the past few months.
“In the first quarter of 2015 we have seen continued growth in data services and increased revenue from handset sales driven by demand for smartphones,” he said. “Voice revenues have declined in the face of intensifying competitive pressure.”
Kcell is listed on the London stock exchange but controlled by TeliaSonera, a Nordic company.
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(News report from Issue No. 228, published on April 22 2015)
APRIL 21 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan’s Ministry of Communications and its subsidiary, Turkmen Telecom, have created a new telecoms company called Ashgabat Shaher Telefon Ulgamy (ASTU).
ASTU, which means Ashgabat Urban Telephone Network, is tasked with improving the efficiency of the network and appears to be a part of Turkmenistan’s strategy to boost its telecoms networks.
“High-quality communication services, as well as high-speed channels to connect to broadband Internet and data transmission are ensured,” media quoted the government owned Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper as saying.
“Laying of transnational fibre-optic communication lines continues with the aim of expanding the interstate telephone traffic.”
The government-approved press release on the creation of the new company was the only information available.
Last month, the government also approved an ambitious plan to construct a fibre- optic line between the Caspian port of Turkmenbashi and Baku, Azerbaijan.
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(News report from Issue No. 228, published on April 22 2015)
APRIL 17 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – US hotel company Carlson Rezidor, owner of the Radisson and Park Inn brands, said it plans to open another two hotels in Georgia. One of the hotels will be built in Tbilisi and the other in the mountainous Svaneti region.
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(News report from Issue No. 228, published on April 22 2015)