Tag Archives: hydrocarbons

Turkmen president travels to Kabul

AUG. 28 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov visited Kabul and signed a series of deals with his Afghan counterparts, highlighting just how important he views improved relations between Turkmenistan and Afghanistan.

The bilateral deals were not particularly ground-breaking — two leaders agreed to share financial data more readily as well as improve improve cooperation in the energy and tech sectors — but the trip itself was important.

Although he is beginning to travel more and more, Mr Berdymukhamedov is not a particularly keen traveller so a high- profile meeting with Afghan president Mohammad Ashraf Ghani in Kabul is eye-catching.

Mr Berdymukhamedov is worried about the northward march of the Taliban and stability in general in the country.

Earlier this year, reports surfaced which said that Turkmen soldiershadpositioned themselves inside Afghan territory after a series of attacks on their border posts by the Taliban.

Afghanistan is also now a partner in the so-called TAPI gas pipeline project which is planned to run from fields in the east of Turkmenistan to India.

Without stability in Afghanistan and a strong central government the project is likely to remain just a pipe dream.

Expect more Kabul-bound trips by Mr Berdymukhamedov.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 246, published on Sept. 4 2015)

Stock market: Tethys, Nostrum, KAZ Minerals, TBC Bank

SEPT. 3 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Shares in Toronto- and London listed Tethys Petroleum, whose focus is on oil and gas production and exploration in Central Asia, fell significantly after rival Nostrum on Aug. 28 cut a third off the value of an earlier buyout offer.

Tethys shares in Toronto fell by 20% and in London by 29.3%. Tethys responded by saying that it would honour the exclusivity agreement with Nostrum and then look to other companies for potential buyers.

Nostrum said that it had cut its offer after a new due diligence project showed that the original offer had overvalued the company.

In mining, shares in London-listed KAZ Minerals lost 14.2% of their value between Aug. 28 and Sept. 4, wiping gains from August’s devaluation.

KAZ Minerals used to be called Kazakhmys and is focused on copper production.

The Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs) of TBC Bank, which are traded in London, fell by around 8% over the week to $9.12, the lowest price to date for the bank.

TBC, which is the largest retail bank in Georgia and counts PM Irakli Garibashvili as a director, has been trading its GDRs in London since 2014.

The Georgian economy, like the rest of the region, has been dealing with the fallout from the slowdown in Russia’s economy. Georgia is also vulnerable to Greece, its second largest source of remittances. There was no particular news from TBC that would have pressures its GDRs.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 280, published on May 13 2016)

Statoil reduces staff in Azerbaijan

SEPT. 2 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Norwegian oil and gas company, Statoil, is reducing its staff at its office in Azerbaijan, an anonymous employee was quoted as saying. “From 40 employees, the company now has around 10,” the source told the Azeri Press Agency. In 2014, Statoil sold its 15.5% share in the offshore gas field Shah Deniz and its pipeline assets to Malaysian Petronas.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 246, published on Sept. 4 2015)

Petrol prices to rise in Turkmenistan

SEPT. 3 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Media in Kyrgyzstan quoted reports from north Turkmenistan which said long queues were forming at petrol stations after rumours emerged that prices were going to rise. Petrol prices have risen across Central Asia because of a sharp fall in the value of local currencies.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 246, published on Sept. 4 2015)

Gazprom wants 60% of Kyrgyz households to have gas

SEPT. 1 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – At a meeting in Bishkek, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller told Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev the Russian gas monopoly wanted 60% of the country to have access to gas.

Gazprom bought the Kyrgyz gas network in 2013 but this is its first major plan for Kyrgyzstan’s pipeline system. Mr Miller said the plan would cost $700m and mean building 2,500km of new gas pipes.

“We are working ahead of our schedule with the government to get Kyrgyzstan ready for the winter,” Mr Miller said at the press conference. He also noted that construction work on the final section of the Tashkent Bishkek-Almaty gas pipeline had started.

The Tashkent–Bishkek-Almaty gas pipeline is touted as a key component of Central Asia’s energy nexus as it will double capacity being sent from Uzbekistan to populated areas in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 246, published on Sept. 4 2015)

Gas flow restarts on Azerbaijani pipeline

SEPT. 3 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Gas flows along the Baku-Tbilisi-Er- zurum pipeline have resumed after a second attack by Kurdish rebels, the head of BP-Azerbaijan’s press service Tamam Bayatli told Azerbaijani media.

Kurdish rebels have twice attacked a section of the pipeline in Turkey over the past month. On each occasion, BP said gas flows had barely been impacted as the pipeline had either been empty or running at reduced capacity for maintenance.

The PKK group has claimed responsibility for the two attacks and said that it will mount more despite a pledged by the Turkish security forces to strengthen security.

The Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipeline, sometimes referred to as the South Caucasus pipeline, is an important part of the network pumping gas from the Caspian Sea to Europe. Its main feeder is Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz project which is being enlarged to produce more gas for Europe.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 246, published on Sept. 4 2015)

Nostrum cuts offer for Kazakhstan-focused Tethys

AUG. 28 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – London-listed Nostrum Oil & Gas reduced its offer price for Tethys Petroleum by a third to 0.147 Canadian dollars per share. Nostrum revised its offer after a new due diligence report. Both companies have their main operations in Kazakhstan’s oil sector. Tethys is also listed on the London Stock Exchange.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 246, published on Sept. 4 2015)

Petrol price controls cut in Kazakhstan

SEPT. 4 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Kazakh government said that it was abandoning price controls on petrol. Heavy fluctuations in currency and oil prices have put these price controls under pressure.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 246, published on Sept. 4 2015)

Turkmen leader travels to Kabul

AUG. 27 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmen leader Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov travelled to Kabul to meet with Afghan president Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, an important signifier that he wants to play a greater role in improving his neighbour’s stability. Turkmenistan has developed a handful of high profile projects with Afghanistan, including the TAPI pipeline that will pump gas to India.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 245, published on Aug. 28 2015)

Sinopoec and Lukoil complete Kazakh deal

AUG. 20/21 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – China’s state-linked Sinopec agreed to buy the half of Kazakhstan-based Caspian Investments Resources (CIR) for $1.09b that it didn’t already own from Russia’s Lukoil, media reported. The price is lower than the $1.2b initially struck in 2014 and reflects the lower oil price. CIR used to be called Nelson Resources.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 245, published on Aug. 28 2015)