FEB. 13 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov signed a deal with his visiting Ukrainian counterpart, Viktor Yanukovich, to resume gas exports to Ukraine. Ukraine had imported gas from Turkmenistan until a few years ago when it switched to Russia. Now it wants to diversify its imports and include Turkmen gas.
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(News report from Issue No. 124, published on Feb. 15 2013)
JAN. 31 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s government approved the purchase by India’s state-owned energy company ONGC Videsh, of a 2.72% stake in the Azeri-Chirag- Guneshli (ACG) oil fields and a 2.36% stake in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline from the US’s Hess for $1b. Both ACG and BTC are Azerbaijani flagship projects.
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(News report from Issue No. 122, published on Feb. 1 2013)
JAN. 31 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s government approved the purchase by India’s state-owned energy company ONGC Videsh, of a 2.72% stake in the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) oil fields and a 2.36% stake in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline from the US’s Hess for $1b. Both ACG and BTC are Azerbaijani flagship projects.
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(News report from Issue No. 122, published on Feb. 1 2013)
JAN. 12 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, Turkmenistan’s autocratic president, sacked the head of the state’s natural gas company in a government reshuffle, media reported. Gas is Turkmenistan’s biggest income earner. Sahatmyrad Mammedov had headed Turkmengaz for less than a year.
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(News report from Issue No. 120, published on Jan. 18 2013)
JAN. 12 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, Turkmenistan’s autocratic president, sacked the head of the state’s natural gas company in a government reshuffle, media reported. Gas is Turkmenistan’s biggest income earner. Sahatmyrad Mammedov had headed Turkmengaz for less than a year.
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(News report from Issue No. 120, published on Jan. 18 2013)
DEC. 30 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s oil production dropped by 3.7% in 2012, mainly due to lower-than-expected output at the BP-led Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli field, the head of Azerbaijan’s state oil company, Rovnag Abdullayev, said. Oil and gas are the mainstays of Azerbaijan’s economy.
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(News report from Issue No. 119, published on Jan. 11 2013)
JAN. 1 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbekistan stopped supplying gas to neighbouring Tajikistan, media reported quoting Tajik officials, during their annual gas price negotiations. Tajikistan is reliant on Uzbekistan for gas. Each year the two countries negotiate a new price for the gas, prompting Uzbekistan to briefly turn it off.
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(News report from Issue No. 119, published on Jan. 11 2013)
JAN. 4 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan is close to agreeing a deal with top Spanish soccer side Athletico Madrid to sponsor their shirt for the next 1-1/2 seasons, media reported. Flush with cash from energy revenues, Azerbaijan has been on an international marketing drive.
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(News report from Issue No. 119, published on Jan. 11 2013)
DEC. 17 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s state oil fund, SOFAZ, bought a $285m building in central London, its first significant purchase for its new international property portfolio, media reported. Azerbaijan’s wealth fund is worth an estimated $33b.
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(News report from Issue No. 118, published on Dec. 28 2012)
DEC. 20 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia’s energy monopoly, Gazprom, bought Kyrgyzstan’s national gas company for $1 in what appeared at a first glance to be a simple bargain buy.
Strategically, though, Gazprom’s buyout of Kyrgyzgaz is far more than just a drive to increase its customer base. The buyout has also strengthened the Kremlin’s leverage over Kyrgyzstan where Russia is battling with the US and China for influence.
Russia and the US have airbases in Kyrgyzstan while China has won favour by funding infrastructure projects. Influence over Kyrgyzstan is considered key to influence over Central Asia.
Kyrgyzstan is one of the poorest countries in the former Soviet Union, relying on remittances and a handful of mines to prop up its economy. Its, mainly Soviet-built, infrastructure is crumbling, including the gas system.
Thousands of Bishkek residents have had to shiver through this winter after neighbouring Kazakhstan cut gas supplies over Kyrgyzstan’s unpaid debt. This is dangerous for Kyrgyzstan’s leaders as energy shortages tend to bring people out on to the streets and even trigger revolutions. They needed a solution and turned to Moscow.
In return, Russia’s control over Kyrgyz gas potentially gives it enormous power.
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(News report from Issue No. 118, published on Dec. 28 2012)