Tag Archives: hydrocarbons

Stock market: KAZ Minerals, Georgia Healthcare

JULY 16 2017 (The Bulletin) — In a rocky fortnight for stocks in Central Asia and the South Caucasus, only KAZ Minerals and Georgia Healthcare bucked the trend and returned growth. Both have had stellar years and are hitting all-time highs.

For KAZ Minerals, the Kazakhstan-focused copper producer formerly called Kazakhmys, production costs at its sites in north Kazakhstan have been lower than previously expected giving it greater margins. Copper prices have been fairly stable, trading in the $250 – $270 per lb corridor this year after a jump at the end of 2016.

For Georgia Healthcare, analysts have simply underestimated the profitability of the product that it was offering. This profitability may have been a motivating factor for London-listed BGEO Group, which owns a 57% stake in Georgia Healthcare, to tell investors that it was going to split into two companies. BGEO Group plans to hold the Georgia Healthcare stake, along with other assets, but it will spin off Bank of Georgia into its own London-listed company.

On the downside Nostrum was the biggest faller, shedding more than 15% of its price. It is now trading at below 430p for the first time since the end of March.

On Toronto’s stock exchange, Centerra Gold was down 6.3% to C$6.63, its lowest since the March.

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(News report from Issue No. 336, published on July 16 2017)

 

WB keeps lending to Azerbaijan

JULY 6 2017 (The Bulletin) — The World Bank approved a plan to lend Azerbaijan just over $400m in 2017, Russia’s Interfax reported, to fund the construction of the Southern Gas Corridor that will pump gas to Europe from the Azerbaijani section of the Caspian Sea. Earlier this year, Azerbaijan quit the Oslo-based Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a move that some analysts had said may impact its ability to secure loans from major intergovernmental institutions.

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(News report from Issue No. 336, published on July 16 2017)

 

OPEC oil deal will break up in 2018, says Kazakh minister

JULY 5 2017 (The Bulletin) — JULY 9 2017 (The Bulletin) — Kazakhstan effectively signalled its withdrawal from an OPEC deal to cut oil output in an attempt to drive up prices. Russia’s TASS news agency quoted energy minister Kanat Bozumbayev as saying at an energy conference in Istanbul that Kazakhstan wanted to rise output as soon as the current agreement expired in March 2018.

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(News report from Issue No. 336, published on July 16 2017)

 

Gas trade increases between Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan

JUNE 27 2017 (The Bulletin) — Uzbekistan will increase imports of gas condensate from neighbouring Turkmenistan to feed its new refinery at Bukhara, media reported quoting state-owned Turkmengas. There have been no public announcements on an increase in gas to Uzbekistan and no numbers have been released on how much gas will be sent to Uzbekistan from Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan has been looking to broaden its gas purchasing clients.

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(News report from Issue No. 335, published on July 3 2017)

Kazmunaigas confirms deal with ENI

JUNE 27 2017 (The Bulletin) — Kazakh state oil and gas company Kazmunaigas confirmed a deal with ENI that will transfer a 50% stake in the Isatay block in the Caspian Sea to Italy’s ENI. Under the deal the two companies will jointly explore the Isatay block for exploitable oil and gas reserves. ENI has been playing a lead role in developing the Kashagan offshore oil project in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea.

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(News report from Issue No. 335, published on July 3 2017)

 

Uzbekneftgaz wants new branding

JUNE 21 2017 (The Bulletin) — Perhaps embracing the country’s new era of openness, Uzbekistan’s state-owned oil and gas company Uzbekneftegas plans to throw off its Soviet-style branding. The company, which runs the Uzbek energy sector, has said that it wants a new logo and a new slogan that can be translated into Uzbek, Russian and English.

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(News report from Issue No. 334, published on June 26 2017)

 

ATR sets up logistics base in Kazakhstan

JUNE 21 2017 (The Bulletin) — ATR, a British oil field services company, said it had set up a new base new near Aktau after winning a series of projects. ATR, which merged with Centurion Group last year, said that the base would initially employ 12 people, although it aimed to double the size of it within 12 months. ATR rents out oil field services equipment. The Kazakh oil and gas sector is beginning to show signs of a recovery after a downturn since 2014 linked to a collapse in energy prices.

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(News report from Issue No. 334, published on June 26 2017)

Kazakhstan’s TCO reveals finance plan

JUNE 15 2017 (The Bulletin) — Tengizchevroil (TCO), Kazakhstan’s biggest oil producer, has cut its dividend payment this year to part- fund an expansion project, the CEO of Kazakhstan’s state-owned oil and gas company Kazmuniagas, Sauat Mynbayev, said. Mr Mynbayev also said that TCO would also borrow $20b to fund the $37b expansion project. The TCO expansion is considered a vital step in extending Kazakhstan’s oil production. It will increase production to 39m tonnes per year from 27m tonnes per year by 2022.

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(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)

 

Kazakhstan halves Karachaganak cost expansion

JUNE 16 2017 (The Bulletin) — Kazakh officials said that the cost of extending production at the Karachagank gas condensate field had halved. Murat Zhurebekov, chief executive of PSA LLC, a unit of state energy firm Kazmunaigas, said that the cost of boosting production at Karachagank had halved from an earlier estimate of $9b. He didn’t explain why this estimate had been reduced, although he did say that it was linked to low oil prices. Eni and Royal Dutch Shell each own 29.25% of Karachaganak. Kazmunaigas owns 10%, Chevron 18% and Lukoil 13.5%.

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(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)

 

Kazakhstan’s KMG readies for IPO

JUNE 12 2017 (The Bulletin) — Kazakhstan’s state-owned oil and gas company Kazmunaigas is in advanced stages of its preparations for an IPO next year, the FT quoted its CFO Dauren Karabayev as saying. The Kazakh sovereign wealth fund Samruk Kazyna owns 90% of the company and the Central Bank owns the other 10%. Kazmunaigas will list alongside Air Astana and Kazatomprom next year on the new Astana Stock Exchange. There is also likely to be a secondary foreign listing but it is currently unclear where this will be, although analysts have said that London is a favoured option.

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(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)