MARCH 26 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkish energy company Turcas is considering selling most of its 18.5% stake in the Star oil refinery operated by Azerbaijan’s state energy company SOCAR, media reported. The Star refinery is one of SOCAR’s biggest overseas projects. It is currently being built in Izmir on the Mediterranean coast.
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(News report from Issue No. 178, published on April 2 2014)
MARCH 27 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — The results of tests into gas pipeline leaks at the Kashagan oil project in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea are expected in April, Reuters quoted a Kashagan spokesman as saying. Kashagan shut down in October, shortly after it opened, frustrating the government.
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(News report from Issue No. 178, published on April 2 2014)
MARCH 24 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — When Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon headed to his home province of Khatlon to celebrate the Nowruz spring holiday he found time to, possibly at least, take part in an important part of Tajikistan’s modern history.
He joined Fan Xianrong, China’s ambassador in Dushanbe, at the official opening ceremony to build Tajikistan’s first oil refinery.
The facility could process up to 1.2m tonnes of crude annually, mirroring the potential of a similar Chinese-built plant in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan.
The Kyrgyz refinery is ready to begin production but has faced persistent protests and inflated compensation claims from locals concerned about the environmental impact. On March 24, Kyrgyzstan’s environmental agency finally ruled the refinery was not in breach of domestic environmental laws.
When they are up and running these refineries may help break the Russian energy grip over Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan and produce enough supply to feed domestic demand.
The crude oil for the Kyrgyz refinery could be sourced via a spur from the China-Kazakhstan pipeline, while Beijing’s CNPC is working on upstream oil projects in Tajikistan.
For China, building a refinery and controlling crude oil supplies is an effective way of securing influence over regional governments.
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(News report from Issue No. 177, published on March 26 2014)
MARCH 19 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — A consortium led by BP handed out six contracts worth $841m for work on the Shah Deniz II gas project.
Shah Deniz II is the second phase of development at the giant gas field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea. It will feed much of its gas to Europe.
The biggest contract winner was a $528m deal to build compressor stations and other infrastructure in Georgia. This was given to a joint venture between Turkey’s Bechtel International and ENKA.
A $174m contract was given to British construction company Chicago Bridge & Iron for various pipeline and engineering work.
The remaining contracts worth $139m for sub-sea and pipeline engineering were given to Wood Group Kenny Limited, Apply Emtunga, DrillTec GmbH and CSM Bessac.
First gas is expected to flow from Shah Deniz II in 2018. The project is considered vital for the future EU gas supplies.
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(News report from Issue No. 177, published on March 26 2014)
MARCH 24 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Denizbank, a Turkish bank, has agreed to lend Azerbaijani state-owned energy company SOCAR $500m to build a refinery in Turkey, media reported (March 24). The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Finance Corporation had previously rejected a loan request from SOCAR to build the Star refinery.
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(News report from Issue No. 177, published on March 26 2014)
MARCH 24 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — The price of fuel in Kyrgyzstan has increased by as much as 6.7% since the beginning of the year, media reported. An official from an industry lobby group blamed increased import prices from Russia for the rise. Fuel price rises, especially sharp ones, can generate discontent.
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(News report from Issue No. 177, published on March 26 2014)
MARCH 24 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s state-owned energy company SOCAR continued to expand its network of petrol stations in Georgia and Romania, media reported. SOCAR is Azerbaijan’s biggest brand and, with its distinctive logo carrying the Azerbaijani flag and an old oil well, is seen as a way of promoting the country abroad.
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(News report from Issue No. 177, published on March 26 2014)
MARCH 25 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Underling just how dependent Azerbaijan is on oil exports, the Central Bank published data that showed that 95% of its exports in 2013 were energy related. It exported $26.9b worth of oil and $1.6b worth of processed oil products, mainly to neighbouring Georgia.
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(News report from Issue No. 177, published on March 26 2014)
MARCH 25 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenia may quadruple its gas imports to 2b cubic metres a year from Iran, media reported quoting Armenian energy minister Armen Movsisyan. Over the past few years Armenia and Iran have improved relations. Both countries have been searching for regional allies.
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(News report from Issue No. 177, published on March 26 2014)
MARCH 12 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russian energy company Lukoil invested $660m in gas projects in Uzbekistan last year, media reported quoting a company press release. This is a 38% increase in Lukoil’s investment in 2012 and underlines just how important Russian investment is for Uzbekistan.
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(News report from Issue No. 176, published on March 19 2014)