Tag Archives: hydrocarbons

Kashagan opening gives impetus to Kazakhstan

APRIL 5 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) which operates a pipeline that pumps oil around the northern shore of the Caspian Sea said it will ship oil from Kashagan in the fourth quarter of the year. The CPC statement gives extra impetus to the Kazakh government assessment that the Kashagan project will be operational by the end of 2016. Kashagan, which was supposed to propel Kazakhstan into the Premier League of oil producers was closed in 2013 for repairs.

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(News report from Issue No. 275, published on April 8 2016)

KazTransOil revenues grow in Kazakhstan

APRIL 1 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – KazTransOil, Kazakhstan’s state owned pipeline distributor, said its revenue grew 3.2% to 213b tenge ($617m) in 2015. In US dollar terms, however, the company’s revenues shrank by around 30% due to the sharp depreciation of the tenge last summer. Analysts forecast a decline in sales for KazTransOil in 2016, but the company hopes to boost its revenues in 2017 with the giant Kashagan project coming online.

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(News report from Issue No. 275, published on April 8 2016)

Four members, including Turkmenistan agree on TAPI investment

APRIL 7 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – State-owned Turkmengaz, Interstate Gas Systems of Pakistan, Afghan Gas Enterprise and India’s GAIL agreed to invest $200m in engineering studies for the TAPI gas pipeline project. The four members of the consortium forecast that TAPI will cost around $10b. Construction works started last December. Once built, TAPI will pump gas from Turkmenistan’s Galkynysh gas field to India.

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(News report from Issue No. 275, published on April 8 2016)

Mitsubishi sends turbines to Turkmen power plant

APRIL 1 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) will supply gas turbines and generators to the 400MW Zerger gas-fired power plant in Turkmenistan. Under a $300m contract signed last year, Japan’s Sumitomo is building the plant in the Lebap region of Turkmenistan, 600km north-east of Ashgabat.

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(News report from Issue No. 275, published on April 8 2016)

Kazakh oil company finalises agreement with Vitol

APRIL 4 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan’s state-owned oil company, Kazmunaigas, said it finalised an agreement it signed in December with Switzerland-based oil trader Vitol. The deal will allow Vitol to buy oil from Kazmunaigas for an advance payment of up to $3b. The press service of Samruk Kazyna, the sovereign wealth fund that owns Kazmunaigas, said the deal will last for four years.

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(News report from Issue No. 275, published on April 8 2016)

Gazprom cuts gas price for Kyrgyztan

APRIL 1 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russian gas company Gazprom cut the price of gas it sells to Kyrgyzstan by 9% to $150 per 1,000 cubic metres. Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev had been lobbying for this for some time, saying that a fall in global prices should mean a price reduction for consumers in Krygyzstan. Gazprom bought the Kyrgyz gas distributor in 2014 for a symbolic $1, promising to clear its debt and invest in infrastructure.

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(News report from Issue No. 275, published on April 8 2016)

Oil export ban is illogical, says ex-Kyrgyz official

APRIL 1 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – For the past six years, there has been an informal ban on petroleum exports from Kazakhstan to Kyrgyzstan, former president of Kyrgyzstan’s Oil Traders Association, Zhumakadyr Akeneyev, said at a conference in Bishkek. According to him this practice is illogical within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union and it has caused a rise in illegal trading. Kyrgyzstan imports almost all its petroleum products from Russia.

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(News report from Issue No. 275, published on April 8 2016)

Kazakhstan’s KMG EP ditches dividend payout for the first time

ALMATY, MARCH 31 2016, (The Conway Bulletin) — KMG EP, a subsidiary of Kazakhstan’s state-owned Kazmunaigas, said it will not pay dividends this year for the first time in a decade, reflecting the impact of low oil prices on the company.

KMG EP had paid dividends each year since its IPO on the London Stock Exchange in 2006.

“The board of directors has recommended not to pay dividends on ordinary shares,” the company said in a statement.

“The decision not to pay dividends is caused by a sharp decline in oil prices since the end of 2014, as a result of which the company’s cash flow and operating profit turned negative.”

The board decided to override an earlier recommendation from the company’s independent directors to pay out dividends this year.

KMG EP’s revenues collapsed by 37% in 2015. Oil prices have fallen from around $120/barrel in June 2014 to around $40/barrel now. Earlier this year oil cost less than $30/barrel.

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(News report from Issue No. 274, published on April 1 2016)

Petronas to start drilling in Turkmen Caspian Sea

MARCH 31 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Petronas Carigali, a subsidiary of Malaysia’s largest energy company, said it is ready to start drilling at the Garagol Deniz West field in the Turkmen section of the Caspian Sea. The company is also about to complete a pipeline connection from the field to the onshore processing facility. Petronas is an active player in Turkmenistan’s gas sector.

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(News report from Issue No. 274, published on April 1 2016)

Azerbaijan’s SOCAR sells Petkim shares

MARCH 29 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s state-owned energy company SOCAR said it sold part of its stake in the Petkim petrochemical project in Turkey. SOCAR’s subsidiary Socar Turkey Enerji, which controls its Turkish operations, said it sold a 2.75% stake for 147mn liras ($51mn). Socar Turkey Enerji still retains a 56.32% stake in Petkim. SOCAR has been looking to raise cash recently.

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(News report from Issue No. 274, published on April 1 2016)