Tag Archives: oil

Kazakhs talk to OPEC about output

SEPT. 7 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakh officials are in talks with OPEC to try and arrange a separate output deal that would allow it more flexibility to ramp up output from its Kashagan field, media quoted officials as saying. OPEC has been looking to restrain global oil production to increase prices, a plan that Kazakhstan, which is not an OPEC member, has gone along with. It, though, has said that it needs to extract oil from its giant Kashagan field, which started operations last year, to repay shareholders.
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— This story was first published in issue 343 of The Conway Bulletin on Sept. 15 2017

Azerbaijan expecting decision on Absheron soon

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SEPT. 14 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijani state oil and gas company SOCAR expects a decision on whether to develop the offshore Absheron gas field to be made by the end of the year, a source a the company told Reuters. Absheron is seen as an important field that should boost Azerbaijan’s reputation as a major gas exporter. It was discovered in 2011 by a consortium lead by France’s Total.
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— This story was first published in issue 343 of The Conway Bulletin on Sept. 15 2017

Oil shipments through Georgia’s Batumi port fall

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SEPT. 1 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Oil shipments through the Georgian Black Sea port of Batumi have fallen by a third this year, a port official told Reuters. The port is a major hub for the region’s economy and a large drop in oil shipments, most arrive on trains from Baku, could suggest a slowdown. The port is operated by Kazakh oil and gas company Kazmunaigas. In total, Batumi port processed 1.472m tonnes of crude and refined oil in the first eight months of the year, down from 2.227m tonnes.

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(News report from Issue No. 342, published on Sept. 7 2017)

Azeri-Chirag- Guneshli production falls

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AUG. 17 2017 (The Bulletin) — BP said that the Azeri-Chirag- Guneshli (ACG) in the Azerbaijani section of the Caspian Sea produced 14m tonnes of oil in the first half of 2017, 12.5% less than during the same period in 2016. The drop will irritate Azerbaijani officials who have been pressuring BP to stop a production slippage at ACG, its biggest oil producer. In the first half of 2013, ACG had produced nearly 22m tonnes of oil.

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(News report from Issue No. 340, published on Aug. 20 2017)

US sanctions do not hit Kazakh CPC exports

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AUG. 8 2017 (The Bulletin) — New US sanctions imposed on Russia will not affect Kazakh oil exports via the CPC pipeline to the Russian port of Novorossiysk, media quoted Kazakhstan economy minister Timur Suleimenov, as saying. CPC has become the main export route for Kazakh oil produced at Tengizchevroil and Kashagan. At the start of August, US President Donald Trump signed a series of sanctions targeting Russian oil exports in retaliation for its meddling in the US election.

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(News report from Issue No. 339, published on Aug. 13 2017)

Azerbaijan boosts gas imports from Russia

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JULY 3 2017 (The Bulletin) — Russia’s Gazprom said that it was in negotiations with Azerbaijan to increase the amount of gas it sells it. The statement followed a meeting between the head of Gazprom Alexey Miller and the head of SOCAR, the Azerbaijani state- owned oil and gas company, Rovnag Abdullayev and highlights improved Azerbaijan-Russia relations. Azerbaijan started gas imports in September 2015.

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

Azerbaijan oil exports via BTC fall 11.8%

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JULY 5 2017 (The Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s oil exports through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline (BTC) fell by 11.8% in the first half of 2017 compared to the same period last year to 13.174m tonnes, state-owned SOCAR said. This is significant as the BTC export route is Azerbaijan’s main thoroughfare for its oil, its most important commodity. No reason was given for the drop in oil exports.

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

Oil shipments from Georgia drop

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JULY 4 2017 (The Bulletin) — Oil shipments from the Georgian Black Sea port of Batumi have fallen 29.2% this year, an official from Kazakhstan’s state-run Kazmunaigas told local media. He didn’t give a reason for the drop although Kazakh oil producers have previously said that they have switched exports to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium which threads around the north coast of the Caspian Sea to the Russian port of Novorossiysk. Batumi is a major oil exit point for crude oil heading to Europe. A heavy reduction in its use will hit Georgian revenues. Georgian officials have not commented.

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

Stock market: KAZ Minerals, Georgia Healthcare

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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)

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

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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)