MARCH 6 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan has agreed a deal with Iran to receive goods and produce in lieu of fees owed for gas, Bloomberg reported quoting the state-run Iranian Students Agency. Turkmenistan is an important supplier of gas to northern Iran, reportedly supplying up to a third of its imports. US sanctions have hit Iran’s cash flow.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 126, published on March 8 2013)
MARCH 1 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s state energy company Socar plans to issue a $1b Eurobond by the end of the year to fund various upstream and downstream projects, media quoted company president Rovnag Abdullayev as saying. This will be the second Eurobond issue by Socar following its $500m issue last year.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 126, published on March 8 2013)
FEB. 20 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Norwegian energy giant Statoil confirmed that it had pulled out of the Abay oil prospect in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea, media reported. A Statoil spokesman said that a technical and commercial evaluation of the project had triggered the withdrawal.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 125, published on Feb. 22 2013)
FEB. 20 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Norwegian energy giant Statoil confirmed that it had pulled out of the Abay oil prospect in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea, media reported. A Statoil spokesman said that a technical and commercial evaluation of the project had triggered the withdrawal.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 125, published on Feb. 22 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.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(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.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 122, published on Feb. 1 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.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(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.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(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.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 118, published on Dec. 28 2012)
NOV. 26 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Touted as an emerging superpower, India has still appeared sluggish in exerting its influence over Central Asia.
India’s moves in the region had been either incremental, such as talks with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan on military cooperation, or long term, such as the TAPI pipeline which will, if everything goes to plan, pump gas from Turkmenistan across Afghanistan and Pakistan to India.
This week, though, India took a giant leap forward in cementing real influence in the region. US energy company ConocoPhillips said it intended to sell its 8.4% stake in the Kashagan oil field development project not to Kazakh state energy company KazMunaiGas but to India’s state-run ONGC.
This is significant as KazMunaiGas would have had the first option to buy the stake. Instead, KazMunaiGas appears to have stood aside to allow ONGC in, although this could still change. It’s going to cost ONGC a reported $5b but with it comes significant influence. Kashagan is Kazakhstan’s most high-profile and prestigious energy project.
Websites have also reported that India wants to invest directly into Turkmenistan’s gas fields. If confirmed, this would be more evidence of India’s stirring ambition in the region.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 115, published on Nov. 30 2012)