Tag Archives: pipelines

Construction work on TAP to start, says Azeri energy ministry

FEB 26 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azeri energy minister Natig Aliyev said construction works will start later this month on the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), the final section of the so-called Southern Gas Corridor that will pump gas from Azerbaijan to Europe.

According to Mr Aliyev, TAP is also expecting to secure financing by the end of April.

“The issues of TAP financing will be completely solved on April 28,” he said.

TAP, a 10b cubic metres pipeline which runs across Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea to Italy will link up with the 16b cubic metres Trans- Anatolian Pipeline at the border with Turkey.

BP, Azerbaijan’s state-owned SOCAR, Snam, Fluxys, Enagas and Axpo are all shareholders in TAP.

European customers see the Southern Gas Corridor an alternative to Russian gas supplies and the European Commission has lobbied intensely to ensure that the project is completed by the 2019 deadline.

This week a delegation of the European Commission participated in the second meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council.

Federica Mogherini, vice president of the European Commission, emphasised just how much weight the EU put on the project.

“The Southern Gas Corridor is an essential element in the EU’s Energy Security Strategy,” she said.

“We strongly support the Southern Gas Corridor, and we are determined – and me personally – to do our part to ensure that it is completed on time.”

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 270, published on March 4 2016)

CPC boosts oil from Kazakhstan to Russia

FEB. 24 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Oil transport company Caspian Pipeline Consortium said it will increase the volume of oil it ships from Kazakhstan to Russia by 20% in 2016, to 51m tonnes. Nikolai Brunich, the company’s CEO, said it plans to receive around 2.5m tonnes of oil from Kashagan this year.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 269, published on Feb. 26 2016)

Turkmenistan increases security over TAPI

FEB. 9 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Addressing a government meeting, Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov ordered his government to increase security over the planned TAPI pipeline that will, it is hoped, pump gas to India. Last month the Taliban destroyed a transmission line sending electricity between Uzbekistan and Kabul. For TAPI to be successful, it needs to be able to guarantee security around the route. Governments that border Afghanistan have been warning that a resurgent Taliban are posing an increasing threat to stability.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 267, published on Feb. 12 2016)

IMF flies to Azerbaijan for talks on $4b loan

JAN. 27 2016, BAKU (The Conway Bulletin) — An IMF delegation flew to Baku for meetings with Azerbaijan’s government over a potential loan to buffer it against a financial storm that now threatens to seriously damage its economy.

The FT newspaper reported that the the loan could hit $4b, although an IMF statement later dodged giving specific numbers.

“An IMF team will be in Baku during Jan. 28 – Feb. 4 for a fact- finding staff visit at the authorities’ request. The team will discuss areas for technical assistance and assess possible financing needs,” it said in a statement.

Azerbaijan’s finance minister, Samir Sharifov, though, played down reports of a loan.

He instead said that Azerbaijan was going to raise $2b by selling debt for the Southern Caucasus Gas Corridor Company, which manages various pipelines, and pipeline projects, running from the Caspian Sea to Europe.

“There is no urgent need for a loan, but we can raise loans to support the economy amid low oil prices,” Mr Sharifov told journalists in Baku of talks with the IMF.

If Azerbaijan did take an IMF loan it would be the first emergency loan given to a sovereign state during this current financial downturn. Taking an IMF loan would also dent Azerbaijan’s pride. Fuelled by high oil prices its economy has boomed over the past 15 years. The government has invested heavily in promoting its reputation as a bridge between the East and West, building grandiose towers and sponsoring major sports events.

But the government has failed to shift Azerbaijan from a petro-econ- omy to a more dynamic economy with several income streams. Instead, Azerbaijan still receives around 95% of its export revenue from oil sales.

And with oil prices at around 12- year-lows this has begun to hurt.

The government has slashed spending, inflation is soaring and jobs are melting away. The manat currency has dropped a third in value in the past month and frustrated ordinary people are beginning to speak out and protest against the government.

A Conway Bulletin correspondent in Baku said people in the streets were increasingly referring to the current economic downturn as a “crisis”.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)

Editorial: Iran’s return

JAN. 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – There is much excitement in our region over the emergence of Iran after over a decade of US-imposed sanctions.

New flight connections, new pipelines, new transmission lines and more is what a sanctions-free Iran could bring to the South Caucasus and Central Asia.

Iran has struck a deal with Air Astana to open the Almaty-Tehran air route. It has also revived talks with Turkmenistan about gas fields and pipelines around the Caspian.

Potentially, a new network to the east of the Caspian Sea could facilitate the European Union’s plans to import gas from the region. Azerbaijan may well be interested in such deals as well. In addition, Iran could become an important supplier of gas to both Armenia and Georgia.

On the flip side, Iran’s accession to the global oil market will undoubtedly drive the price of oil further down, it has huge oil reserves and production capacity, increasing the pressure on the budgets of oil-exporting economies in the region.

ENDS

Editorial from Issue No. 264, published on Jan. 22 2016)

BP invests in pipeline, Georgian gov. says

JAN. 21 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — British oil company BP will invest $150m in the renovation of the Baku-Supsa oil pipeline, the Georgian government said. BP did not give further details on the pipeline upgrade. The pipeline runs from the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea. Last year, rebels from the Georgian breakaway region of South Ossetia grabbed a portion of the pipeline.

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(News report from Issue No. 264, published on Jan. 22 2016)

CPC increases flow from Kazakhstan to Russia

JAN. 11 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), a pipeline designed to transport oil from the Tengiz oil field in western Kazakhstan to the Russian Black Sea coast, said it had increased its output by 7% in 2015, in line with its expansion plans. CPC has now reached a throughput of 42.8m tonnes, up from just below 40m tonnes in 2014. Chevron, Lukoil, Shell, BG and ENI own stakes in CPC. The Tengiz oil field if one of Kazakhstan’s most important oil projects.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 263, published on Jan. 15 2016)

GAIL wants 5% of Turkmen pipeline project TAPI

DEC. 27 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Indian gas distributor GAIL said it wants to buy a 5% stake in the TAPI pipeline project, two weeks after construction started on the 1,700km pipeline that will run from Turkmenistan to India. TAPI will pump 33b cubic metres of Turkmen gas to India per year, via Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is expected to come online in 2019. Turkmenistan’s state-owned Turkmengaz is the operator of the project.

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(News report from Issue No. 262, published on Jan. 8 2016)

Editorial: Turkmenistan’s pipeline

JAN. 8 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan completed its $2.5b East-West Pipeline, a project with a stated objective of making gas available for export.

The pipeline can transport around 30b cubic metres of gas to the Turkmen Caspian shore and it could then potentially be linked to a Trans- Caspian Pipeline which connects to another pipeline system to Europe.

But, and this is the catch, there is no plan to build a pipeline across the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan from Turkmenistan. It’s a big catch and must be causing policymakers in Turkmenistan to lose sleep.

There is neither an agreement nor funding ready for a trans-Caspian link and bringing gas to the western part of Turkmenistan doesn’t necessarily mean it will continue to Europe.

The Turkmen government hailed the East-West Pipeline as a step towards Europe, but it could be Turkmenistan’s White Elephant. The East- West Pipeline was planned and commissioned during the height of the hype of building a trans-Caspian pipeline. With low oil and gas prices, the world is a very different place today.

ENDS

(Editorial from Issue No. 262, published on Jan. 8 2016)

Turkmenistan launches new east-west gas pipeline

DEC. 23 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan launched a new pipeline that will connect its gas fields in the east to the port of Turkmenbashi on the Caspian shore, a move that many consider a step towards exporting gas to Europe.

The 733km, 30b cubic metres pipeline, simply called East-West, will become the main cross-country artery for Turkmen gas, joining several other elements in the country’s existing gas infrastructure.

Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov hailed the project as a significant achievement.

“The new pipeline will give impetus to the industrialisation of the country as well as increase the potential for Turkmenistan’s gas exports to Russia, Iran and Europe,” he said at the opening ceremony.

China buys the majority of Turkmen gas production, roughly 70b cubic metres, but Turkmenistan has also started work on the TAPI pipeline that should run to India.

The biggest prize, though, is selling gas to Europe. Mr Berdymukhamedov has held talks with European officials but no deal has been struck yet. To pump gas to Europe, Turkmenistan needs to build additional pipelines.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 262, published on Jan. 8 2016)