NOV. 28 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Two workers died and 26 are still ill after they were poisoned while working at an oil services company in Zhanaozen, west Kazakhstan, media reported. The location of the poisoning is extra sensitive in Kazakhstan because Zhanaozen was the scene of anti-government rioting in 2011.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 163, published on Dec. 4 2013)
NOV. 25 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Topaz Energy and Marine, an oil field service company based in Dubai, said it had won two contracts worth $100m contract with BP in Azerbaijan. Topaz said it will perform supply duties at the ACG and Shah Deniz fields in the Caspian Sea. It will launch one vessel to serve the contract this year and another next year.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 162, published on Nov. 27 2013)
NOV. 22 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — British energy company BP plans to commission a new oil platform at the $6b Chirag Oil Project by the end of this year, media reported. The Chirag Oil Project is part of BP’s efforts to boost production at the ACG oil field in the Caspian Sea.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 162, published on Nov. 27 2013)
NOV. 11 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — The deal has been in the making all year. It’s still not there, yet, but it is close.
Rosneft, a Russian energy company, signed a preliminary deal with Kazakh energy company Kazmunaigas and oil pipeline monopoly KazTransOil to transit oil to China.
A final deal is expected by the end of the year.
Russia is increasing exports to China but it has run out of pipeline capacity. Kazakhstan has invested hugely in expanding its pipeline network and has excess capacity so, for a fee, it has agreed to pump Russian oil east.
The deal is important because it further cements the Russia-Kazakhstan alliance; Kazakhstan is a member of Russia’s Customs Union and the two countries are integrating their defence systems.
It also highlights the importance of Kazakhstan’s pipeline infrastructure to China. Without it, China’s oil supply would be weaker.
Media reported that Russia plans, currently, to pump 140,000 barrels per day through Kazakhstan’s pipeline network. This, though, is expected to rise.
The final details have yet to be worked out but this is significant news.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 160, published on Nov. 13 2013)
NOV. 11 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kashagan will not re-start oil production until 2014 because of worse-than-expected repairs to a gas leak, Christophe de Margerie, head of Total, one of the partners developing the Caspian Sea site, said. Over the past month, the consortium developing Kashagan has gradually delayed further the re-start of oil production.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 160, published on Nov. 13 2013)
NOV. 12 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s state energy company SOCAR wants to build the largest port in Turkey, media quoted its head, Rovnag Abdullayev, as saying. The plan underlines Azerbaijan’s importance to Turkey as one of its main economic partners. The port will cost $400m to build and be operational by 2016, Mr Abdullayev said.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 160, published on Nov. 13 2013)
NOV. 11 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russia and Kazakhstan signed a preliminary deal to pump Russian oil through Kazakh pipelines to China. Russia’s pipeline network is full while Kazakhstan has spare capacity.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 160, published on Nov. 13 2013)
NOV. 11 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Shymkent refinery re-started fuel production after a month-long planned shut-down for maintenance work, official Kazakh media reported, easing pressure on petrol supplies. Re-starting the Shymkent refinery, one of only three in Kazakhstan, on schedule was important after reports of petrol shortages and price rises.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 160, published on Nov. 13 2013)
NOV. 7 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Fuel shortages and a power struggle in Uzbekistan appear to have claimed another major scalp in Shavkat Majidov, the long-serving first deputy chief of Uzbekneftegaz. Although no official information has been made available, media reported Uzbek President Islam Karimov sacked Mr Majidov over continued fuel supply problems.
Mr Majidov was a powerful man, in charge of oil-related affairs in Uzbekistan and closely linked with Gulnara Karimova, Mr Karimov’s elder daughter.
Ms Karimova had once been considered a potential presidential successor but more recently she has come under pressure from rivals. Prosecutors in Europe and Uzbekistan have opened investigations into her business affairs; her supporters are being targeted.
Mr Majidov’s removal, according to a media report, is linked to an investigation into shortages at the Ferghana Oil Refinery. Ms Karimova’s ally Akbarali Abdullayev had controlled the refinery until police arrested him in October. This arrest, it appears, left Mr Majidov vulnerable. It has also allowed outsiders another glimpse of the interwoven world of politics and business in Uzbekistan.
Sultan Alisher, a member of parliament loyal to Mr Karimov, and director of the Shurtangaz chemical plant, has taken over as deputy head of Uzbekneftegaz. He’s a safe pair of hands that Mr Karimov can rely on as the power game in Uzbekistan unfolds.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 160, published on Nov. 13 2013)
NOV. 11 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) — Looking to stem fuel shortages, Uzbekistan has agreed a deal with neighbouring Turkmenistan to import oil to Uzbek refineries, media reported quoting a subsidiary of the Uzbek state-run energy company Uzbekneftegaz. Oil production in Uzbekistan has been decreasing and its three refineries are running below capacity.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 160, published on Nov. 13 2013)