Category Archives: Uncategorised

Kazakh oil producer restarts output

ALMATY, JUNE 21 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Aral Petroleum Capital, a small oil company owned by Canada’s Caspian Energy, said it had restarted oil production at the East Zhagabulak field in Kazakhstan after cutting output to zero because of the sharp fall in oil prices.

This is good news for the Kazakh oil sector, which has seen production fall from some of its least economical fields and may also indicate that other oil companies who have cut production would follow with price rises.

Aral said it welcomed the Kazakh government’s decision to cut customs duty on oil to $30/tonne from $40/tonne in February.

Michael Nobbs, chairman of Caspian Energy, said its subsidiary will now generate cash flow to boost investment as well as pay back creditors. Mr Nobbs, however, warned that creditors could hinder progress. “If a creditor were to take action to seize or block access to Aral’s bank accounts, Aral’s ability to continue producing would be seriously jeopardized,” Mr Nobbs said in a statement.

Aral operates the Zhagabulak oil field, located in the north-western Aktobe region, near Kenkiyak.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)

Kyrgyzstan’s Supreme Court changes Askarov sentence

JUNE 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan’s Supreme Court said it would reconsider a life sentence levied against Azimzhan Askarov, a prominent human rights defender, on July 11. Police arrested Askarov in the aftermath of clashes in 2010 that toppled President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s government for inciting ethnic hatred. Pressured by US lobby groups, who have held up Askarov as a human rights champion, the Court had announced in April that it would revise the sentence.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)

Person in the news: Asset Issekeshev, the new mayor of Astana

JUNE 20 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – An urbane, English-speaking former civil servant who has quickly climbed up through the ranks, Asset Issekeshev, 44, is the prototype of Kazakhstan’s new generation. One of his most high-profile colleagues is Baurzhan Baibek, 42, mayor of Almaty since August 2015, forming a duopoly of power in the country’s most important civic positions.

But while Mr Baibek received a government grant to study in Germany, Mr Issekeshev’s education was completed in Kazakhstan, at the Al-Farabi University in Almaty, with a Law degree.

A Karaganda native, Mr Issekeshev then graduated from the Higher School of Public Administration, an aspiring model school for politicians.

Since the late 1990s, Mr Issekeshev has worked his way through government bodies, reaching the post of minister of industry and trade in 2009. Under him, the ministry underwent two successive reorganisations, first it changed name to the ministry of industry and new technologies and in 2014 to the ministry for investment and development.

Now the ever loyal Mr Issekeshev has claimed a top job as the mayor of Astana. Adilbek Dzhaksybekov, named chief of the presidential administration this week, was the incumbent before Mr Issekeshev took over on June 21.

Other notable mayors include Umirzak Shukeyev, currently chief of Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna, and Imangali Tasmagambetov, currently minister of defence and formerly Kazakh PM.

Throughout the history of independent Kazakhstan, the post of Astana mayor has proved to be a powerful springboard. When President Nursultan Nazarbayev wants to

raise the profile of a career-bureaucrat, the mayoral position in Astana is a perfect position.

Next year, the much awaited and heralded EXPO will take place in Astana, and Mr Issekeshev will be the young face of the shiny Kazakh capital.

The public likes him and local political observers highly regard him. He ranked as the most popular minister in the country last year, in a poll organised by KIPR, a local think-tank. In June 2013, he was named among the top ten of Kazakhstan’s most powerful elite people, according to the Strategiya think-tank.

This, perhaps, puts him in a strong position to play a role inMr Nazarbayev’s succession plans.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)

Centerra gets Kyrgyzstan licence

JUNE 23 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan’s State Agency for Environmental Protection and Forestry extended an environmental permit for Canadian miner Centerra Gold to operate at the Kumtor mine until the end of the year. The company now needs official approval of its mine plan for 2016 by the end of June in order to continue its work at the mine.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)

Editorial: Tajik electricity production

JUNE 24 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon said that he wanted to triple Tajikistan’s power generation capacity to around 45b kWh/year by 2030.

This is a long-term projection, and plenty can happen over the next 14 years, especially in Tajikistan, but it is still an important one. It is important because it shows the impact that the World Bank sponsored CASA-1000 project is having on the aspirations of Tajikistan.

Tajikistan needs to boost its exports and electricity production, through its network of hydropower stations, has emerged as the only real way of doing this. Gold production, while increasing, is still low, hopes of an oil boom spurred by the discovery of Bokhtar field have fallen flat.

But CASA-1000 has encouraged positive talk of a boom in power generation in Tajikistan. It’s important, too, to credit Tajikistan, over Kyrgyzstan, of being hard-headed about power generation. It will supply the lion’s share of the power for the CASA-1000 project, which will send electricity across Afghanistan to Pakistan, and plans to boost its power generation capacity even further show that the potential is there for more.

ENDS

(Editorial from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)

Tajik ministers swear oath of allegiance

JUNE 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Under new rules, government ministers in Tajikistan will have to swear an oath of allegiance to President Emomali Rakhmon, media reported. The new rule will further boost the perceived power of Mr Rakhmon. He has been accused of building a personality cult.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)

Kazakhstan fines ArcelorMittal

JUNE 17 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Steel producer ArcelorMittal Temirtau received a fine of 3.4m tenge (around $10,000) from the Kazakh government for failing to comply with its 2014 investment plan. The company, a subsidiary of Indian giant ArcelorMittal, operates the biggest steel producing plant in Central Asia. Slower demand for steel had forced the company to cut back investment and lay off workers in 2014. It had hoped that the reemergence of Iran into the international economy would boost sales.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)

Utility cost rise in Armenia

JUNE 17 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s state regulator said it will consider a 5% reduction in the price it charges homes for electricity, currently in the 38.8 – 48.8dram range (8-10 cents), adding to the deflationary pressure in the economy. In April, Russia’s Gazprom agreed to apply a 9% discount to the gas it supplied to Armenia. Rising electricity costs for households had sparked a popular protest in the summer of 2015.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)

Armenian taxi associations accuse Yandex

JUNE 23 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenian taxi associations have accused Yandex Taxi of market dumping practices as the Russian search-engine owned company tries to enter the local market. Yandex Taxi will start operations in Armenia on July 1 and has set prices that appear to be half the average rate of 500dram ($1) per 5km. The new taxi service will function through an online app. This month Uber started operations in Astana.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)

Deficit grows in Azerbaijan

JUNE 20 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s Central Bank published economic data that highlighted a current account deficit and a drop in FDI for Q1 2016, compared to the same period last year. This is the second consecutive quarter that Azerbaijan has run a trade deficit. Statistical projections say that Azerbaijan will face an economic recession in the first half of the year.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)