Tag Archives: gas

Gas shortages triggered protests in Kyrgyzstan

JUNE 9 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Perhaps playing into Uzbekistan’s hands, the shortage of gas in Osh has triggered anger towards the central authorities in Kyrgyzstan.

Under a Soviet engineered system, Uzbekistan supplies Osh and other cities in south Kyrgyzstan with gas. It cut supplies on April 14 because it said that Kyrgyzstan was not keeping to its side of a bilateral arrangement.

Uzbek officials have also declined to negotiate with their Kyrgyz counterparts, leaving people living in the south without supplies.

And anger is brewing.

Osh has seen a few demonstrations but protests have now broken out in Bishkek. People protesting against the lack of gas in Osh merged with others demonstrating against Russia’s Gazprom’s takeover of KyrgyzGaz in April and the government’s drive towards the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union. Police were forced to break the protest up but any ground-swell of anti-government feelings in Kyrgyzstan can have serious implications for the government.

It is not surprising that Uzbekistan is being a difficult neighbour. Uzbekistan has been highly critical of Kambar-Ata-2, the Kyrgyz hydroelectric project the Kremlin agreed to finance. In 2012, Uzbek President Islam Karimov said upstream dams such as Kambar-Ata-2 could trigger wars between upstream and downstream countries.

Gazprom’s acquisition of KyrgyzGaz is also a threat to Uzbekistan as it gives the Kyrgyz energy network more firepower. Gazprom has talked also of a north-south gas pipeline in Kyrgyzstan that would cut Uzbekistan out of its supply chain. This, though, is some way off and it will not end Osh’s gas crisis in the short run.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 188, published on JUNE 11 2014)

Gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to China opens

JUNE 2 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The third branch of a gas pipeline running from Turkmenistan, through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to China opened on May 31, media reported. Line C, as it is known, will double the pipeline’s capacity to 55b cubic metres of gas per year by 2015. Gas exports to China are vital to Central Asia’s economies.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 187, published on JUNE 4 2014)

Turkey buys 10% of Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz

MAY 30 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkish Petroleum Corp., the state-owned Turkish oil energy company, agreed to buy an extra 10% stake in the Shah Deniz gas field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea from France’s Total for $1.5b.

This means that Turkish Petroleum now owns 19% of the Shah Deniz and is Azerbaijan’s second biggest partner in the project, behind BP.

The deal shifts the energy power vertical in the region as it reduces Turkey’s reliance on Russia for supplies while increasing its dependency on Azerbaijan.

Turkey is a NATO member and with the stand-off over Ukraine continuing, shifting energy reliance away from Russia is, undoubtedly, a sensible strategy. And who better to turn to than Azerbaijan? Turkey and Azerbaijan are ethnically, culturally, politically and linguistically close. They make natural allies.

For Azerbaijan the deal is an important one as Turkey’s entry into the Shah Deniz project is a massive show of faith in its prospects. It is being upgraded in an important second phase. Turkey is also a major stake holder in the TANAP pipeline that will pump gas from the Caspian Sea to Europe.

Azerbaijan-Turkey relations have always been close, although over the past few years these have grown even closer. Azerbaijan has now established itself as a major gas supplier to Europe and it is only natural that it works increasingly closely with Turkey to secure this sector.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 187, published on JUNE 4 2014)

Azerbaijan gas to flow to Russia

JUNE 3 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – After six months of repairs to a pipeline, Azerbaijan will re-start exporting gas to Russia, an official from SOCAR, Azerbaijan’s state energy company, said. Relations between Azerbaijan and Russia have improved this year. Oil and gas deliveries, an important indicator, have, generally, resumed.

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(News report from Issue No. 187, published on JUNE 4 2014)

Azerbaijan may reduce TANAP stake

JUNE 2 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan may reduce its 58% stake in the TANAP gas pipeline project that will run from the Caspian Sea to Europe, the chairman of SOCAR, Azerbaijan’s state energy company, Rovnag Abdullayev, said. TANAP is currently one of the world’s biggest pipeline projects.

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(News report from Issue No. 187, published on JUNE 4 2014)

Bangladesh wants Turkmen gas

MAY 28 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) -Bangladeshi officials travelled to Ashgabat to lobby their of the proposed Turkmen counterparts to accept them as part TAPI gas pipeline, media reported.

Their mission to Ashgabat underlines just how important Turkmenistan has become for the region’s energy supply chain.

TAPI is an ambitious project that could transform the energy balance in south Asia. The plan is simple and audacious. Pakistan and India both need more energy. Turkmenistan can supply it and TAPI will connect it to the market.

The difficulty is building a safe and reliable pipeline across Afghanistan.

Even though the plan is still only a potential, Bangladesh has said it also wants to sign up for it.

“We have conveyed our interest to join with TAPI as we are struggling to meet mounting natural gas demands with local production,” Petrobangla, Bangladesh’s state-owned energy company, chairman Hussain Monsur was quoted by Platts as saying.
Adding Bangladesh to the list of countries participating TAPI will add more weight and validity to it.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 187, published on JUNE 4 2014)

Turkmenistan receives $2.5b loan

MAY 30 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) -Japan and South Korea have agreed to lend Turkmenistan $2.5b to build a gas processing plant, media reported. Earlier in May it was announced that companies from Japan and South Korea had won a tender to build the plant. Over the past few years Turkmenistan has become a gas superpower.

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(News report from Issue No. 187, published on JUNE 4 2014)

Georgia gas pipeline restarts

MAY 23 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) -Georgia has resumed supplying gas to Armenia through its north-south pipeline after a rock fall earlier this month damaged it, Gazprom- Armenia said. The pipeline from Russia through Georgia is the main supply route to Armenia. Rock falls, though, are a problem and can trigger shortages each year.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 186, published on May 28 2014)

Turkmenistan grows as a regional energy super-power

MAY 26 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Underlining Turkmenistan’s growing status, Turkmen foreign minister Rashid Meredov met with his Azerbaijani and Turkish counterparts for what was dubbed as the first of regular tri-lateral talks. Energy featured on the agenda. Over the past 5 years Turkmenistan has become a regional energy super-power.

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(News report from Issue No. 186, published on May 28 2014)

Azerbaijani Shah Deniz II consortium hands out major pipeline contract

MAY 28 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – The consortium of companies developing the second phase of the Shah Deniz gas field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea handed out another major contract.

This time it was a $735m contract to build two sections of a pipeline that will pump gas to Europe. This is an important project both for Azerbaijan and for Europe which is looking to reduce its dependency on Russia for energy.

A joint bid by Azeri firm Azfen and Amsterdam-based Saipem Contracting Netherlands BV won the contract to build a 428km pipeline between Azerbaijan and Georgia and a second 59km pipeline in Georgia.

Earlier this year the BP-led consortium developing Shah Deniz II, as the second phase of the development is known, handed out contracts worth billions of dollars, including also to Saipem, an Italian oil and gas services company.

And there promises to be plenty more multi-million- dollar contracts. Shah Deniz II is one of the biggest infrastructure projects in the world. Its entire cost is estimated at $28b.

Reuters quoted Gordon Birrell, BP’s president for the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey region as saying that the development of the South Caucasus Pipeline Expansion was on schedule.

Most of the contracts are due for completion by 2017, with first gas scheduled for a year later.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 186, published on May 28 2014)