SEPT. 28 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) agreed to issue $95m in loans and grants to Kyrgyzstan for the reconstruction of the North-South Corridor, a vital road link. The Eurasian Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, the Saudi Fund for Development and China’s Export-Import Bank are also participating in the reconstruction of the road.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 298, published on Sept. 30 2016)
SEPT. 26 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — A gas leak caused an explosion at an oil platform in the Guneshli oil field, off the coast of Baku.
Although nobody was injured or killed, the fire at Platform 19, will once again raise concerns about safety at oil platforms in Azerbaijan’s Caspian Sea, less than a year after at least 31 rig workers were killed at two other rigs in a storm.
SOCAR, Azerbaijan’s state-owned oil and gas company operated the platform.
It said that the fire had burned for a full day before it was brought under control by fire-fighters.
SOCAR said that all 49 workers were evacuated during the fire.
Azerbaijan’s oil industry is still trying to recover its credibility after the rig fire in December, the deadliest since the Piper Alpha fire in the North Sea killed at least 167 people in 1988.
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(News report from Issue No. 298, published on Sept. 30 2016)
SEPT. 27 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – TALCO, Tajikistan’s aluminium smelter and the country’s biggest industrial asset, should cut output to survive because aluminium prices have fallen below production costs, the company auditors said.
Tajikistan’s government has repeatedly intervened to give TALCO incentives and preferential loans but has not been able to prevent thousands of job losses.
Now production cuts are likely.
“This year, a significant decrease in the level of world prices for aluminium has impacted TALCO’s earnings. The company auditors have suggested that the management orders a cut in production in order to keep financial losses at a minimum,” TALCO said in a statement.
TALCO produced over 73,000 tonnes of aluminium in the first half of 2016, a 13.5% increase compared to the same period last year. It exports to clients in Turkey, Taiwan, Iran, British Virgin Islands, Uzbekistan and Pakistan.
Low commodity prices, though, meant it sold aluminium at a price range of $1,400-$1,600/tonne. Production costs have reached $2,000/tonne. In April, it laid off around 600 workers to cut costs.
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(News report from Issue No. 298, published on Sept. 30 2016)
SEPT. 28 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan’s flagship carrier Air Astana plans to increase air links to China and tap Kazakhstan’s potential as a transport hub. Peter Foster, the company’s CEO, said Air Astana aims to transport 1m Chinese tourists and businessmen within three years. To achieve this goal, the company aims to triple from 20 to 60 the flights it operates with China and to hire more Chinese-speaking staff.
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(News report from Issue No. 298, published on Sept. 30 2016)
SEPT. 29 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan’s government appeared confused over when the giant Kashagan oil project in the Caspian Sea would re-start production after a three year hiatus to repairs leaky pipes. It first said that Kashagan would restart on Oct. 23, surprising analysts, before correcting themselves by announcing a year-end re-start date. Analysts have been expecting a year-end re-start.
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(News report from Issue No. 298, published on Sept. 30 2016)
SEPT. 27 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia will decide within the next two years what to replace the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant with when they decommission it in 2026, media reported quoting government officials. Metsamor, which lies 30km from Yerevan is controversial. It supplies 40% of Armenia’s power but the EU and the US want it closed down because they say it is a safety risk.
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(News report from Issue No. 298, published on Sept. 30 2016)
SEPT. 30 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan-focused copper producer Central Asia Metals continued to gain this week, rallying on its positive half-year report it published in mid-September.
Its stock price in London was up 1.3% to 182.3 on Thursday compared to last week. It has averaged a growth of 1.2% over the past three weeks.
In its half-year report, published on Sept. 13, the company said it increased copper production by 27% to 6,908 tonnes, which helped its revenues to grow marginally to $30.9m despite a sharp fall in copper prices, which have fallen by 17.5% compared to last year.
Importantly too, the company managed to cut production costs by 40%.
“[H1 2016 was] another record period of copper production, resulting in a continued strong financial performance for the Group. The devaluation of the local currency has been a key factor in our reduced costs of production,” Nick Clarke, Central Asia Metals’ executive chairman said in a note.
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(News report from Issue No. 298, published on Sept. 30 2016)
SEPT. 28 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan-focused oil company Roxi Petroleum posted revenues of $896,000 in the first half of 2016, 7.6% lower than in the same period last year. After tax, the company posted a loss of $2.5m, compared to a profit of $13.2m last year when Roxi sold the Galaz oil field. In a statement, chairman Clive Carver stressed the importance of the company’s success in reducing operating costs.
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(News report from Issue No. 298, published on Sept. 30 2016)
SEPT. 25 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan’s ministry of railway transport will cut 30% of its work- force by the end of the year, opposition news outlet Alternative News of Turkmenistan (ANT) reported. Sources in Ashgabat reported the sacking of 15 workers in mid-September. ANT has previously reported on government job cuts and unpaid salaries.
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(News report from Issue No. 298, published on Sept. 30 2016)
SEPT. 29 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Bozhidar Lukarski, Bulgaria’s minister of economy, will hold talks with an Azerbaijani delegation to explore the possibility of buying 1b cubic metres of gas. SOCAR and Bulgargaz, the two state-owned companies, signed a supply agreement in 2014. So far, however, the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria, the pipeline through which Azerbaijan’s gas will be pumped, has not been built. Azerbaijan sees exports to Europe as key to growing its client base.
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(News report from Issue No. 298, published on Sept. 30 2016)
