Category Archives: Uncategorised

Kazakhstan looks for Caspian Sea oil partners

JUNE 1 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Seemingly undeterred by the fall in global oil prices over the past 12 months, Kazakhstan announced a new project to explore the Caspian Sea for more oil and gas deposits that it may be able to tap into.

Vladimir Shkolnik, Kazakhstan’s energy minister was talking to the Kazakh parliament when he made the announcement.

“Based on studies by international experts, the Caspian Depression is estimated to hold giant hydrocarbon reserves of some 60 billion tonnes of oil. This is why we are starting to implement the Eurasia project with the use of innovative geological technologies,” he said.

“Five of the world’s leading oil and gas companies have displayed interest in this project and we are now forming a consortium.”

If, though, Mr Shkolnik was high on grand gestures, he was weaker on the detail.

Mr Shkolnik may have said that five international companies were looking at joining the Kazakh government in a consortium, but he didn’t say which ones. Currently, with oil prices hovering per barrel, down from around $100 in the summer, exploring the Caspian Sea may not be an enticing prospect.

And there is also the small matter of Kashagan too. Kazakhstan and its partners have poured billions of dollars into this Caspian Sea oil field and yet it is still to produce significant quantities of oil.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 234, published on June 4 2015)

Georgia-Russia flights rise

JUNE 2 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The number of people travelling by air directly between Tbilisi and Moscow has risen by 65%, Georgia’s government said. Georgia and Russia have only recently re-started direct flights between the countries. The data shows just how important an air-link is between the two capitals for trade and tourism.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 234, published on June 4 2015)

Electricity prices to rise in Amenia

June 3 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Electricity prices in Armenia will increase, media quoted Robert Nazaryan, chairman of the Public Services Regulatory Commission, as saying, ending months of indecision. This will be the third electricity price rise in two years and triggered street protests.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 234, published on June 4 2015)

Uzbek President signs billion dollar deals in S.Korea

MAY 28-30 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbek President Islam Karimov completed a three day state visit to South Korea which laid the foundations to further develop relations between the two countries.

Mr Karimov and South Korean president Park Geun-hye signed deals worth $7.7b. The agreements cover many sectors ranging from financial to medical to agriculture sectors.

Compare the $7.7b worth of deals to trade between Uzbekistan and South Korea of $1.9b last year.

Mr Karimov appears to have deliberately chosen South Korea for his first foreign trip following his re-election in March for two important reasons.

South Korea is a close ally of the West, and a reception in Seoul offers Mr Karimov’s recognition and credence, and may serve as a stepping-stone for recognition by other capitals.

It is also important to note that Mr Karimov chose a country to visit that would not irritate either Moscow or Washington.

And there is also a cold, hard economic reason for choos- ing to visit South Korea so soon after winning re-election. Mr Karimov needs hard currency to boost the economy, which has been in a downward spiral since Western sanctions hit Russia and dented remittances.

South Korea and Uzbekistan are closely linked. The Soviet Dictator moved thousands of Koreans to Uzbekistan in the 1930s and 1940s.

There is still a large Korean diaspora living in Uzbekistan and, as well as being an important investor in Uzbekistan, after Russia and Kazakhstan, South Korea generates the most remittance flow.

An agreement from Mr Karimov’s trip to Seoul on the mutual recognition of drivers’ licenses also suggested that the two parties are expecting closer ties between the countries.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 234, published on June 4 2015)

Turkmenistan wants electronics

MAY 29 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Apparently not content with a booming gas industry, Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said that he wanted to develop an electronics industry. Mr Berdymukhamedov has been keen to push Turkmen industry.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 234, published on June 4 2015)

Serbia boosts Azerbaijan’s aspirations

MAY 29 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Serbia has withdrawn from Russia’s Turkish Stream project, Serbian PM Alexander Vucic said, handing an important boost to Azerbaijan’s aspirations of becoming a major gas supplier to Europe. Russia plans to build a gas pipeline across the Caspian Sea to Turkey and then into Europe via the Balkans.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 234, published on June 4 2015)

Georgia’s ministry building put on sale

MAY 29 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia’s government has put a building in the centre of Tbilisi which houses the economy ministry up for sale, the first lot in a batch of state property earmarked for privatisation. Media reported that the government expected to sell the building as a potential hotel for $6m.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 234, published on June 4 2015)

Kyrgyzstan passes anti-NGO bill

JUNE 4 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan’s parliament passed a preliminary reading of the so-called Foreign Agents Bill which will, basically, make it harder for local NGOs to receive money from Western organisations. The bill is similar to one passed by Russia in 2012.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 234, published on June 4 2015)

Azerbaijanis turn to dollars

JUNE 3 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijanis have lost confidence in the manat currency since a 33% devaluation earlier this year, eurasinet.org reported. It said dollar accounts in Azerbaijan now made up 70% of the total, the highest proportion in a decade.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 234, published on June 4 2015)

US criticises Tajikistan

JUNE 4 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The US embassy in Dushanbe issued a statement criticising the Tajik government for block- ing access to various websites. It said that Tajikistan should lift restrictions on the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Facebook websites. These have been inaccessible since May 28.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 234, published on June 4 2015)