Tag Archives: gas

Gazprom wants 60% of Kyrgyz households to have gas

SEPT. 1 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – At a meeting in Bishkek, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller told Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev the Russian gas monopoly wanted 60% of the country to have access to gas.

Gazprom bought the Kyrgyz gas network in 2013 but this is its first major plan for Kyrgyzstan’s pipeline system. Mr Miller said the plan would cost $700m and mean building 2,500km of new gas pipes.

“We are working ahead of our schedule with the government to get Kyrgyzstan ready for the winter,” Mr Miller said at the press conference. He also noted that construction work on the final section of the Tashkent Bishkek-Almaty gas pipeline had started.

The Tashkent–Bishkek-Almaty gas pipeline is touted as a key component of Central Asia’s energy nexus as it will double capacity being sent from Uzbekistan to populated areas in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

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(News report from Issue No. 246, published on Sept. 4 2015)

Nostrum cuts offer for Kazakhstan-focused Tethys

AUG. 28 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – London-listed Nostrum Oil & Gas reduced its offer price for Tethys Petroleum by a third to 0.147 Canadian dollars per share. Nostrum revised its offer after a new due diligence report. Both companies have their main operations in Kazakhstan’s oil sector. Tethys is also listed on the London Stock Exchange.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 246, published on Sept. 4 2015)

Turkmengaz to lead TAPI

AUG. 6 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India have picked Turkmengaz, the Turkmen national gas company, to lead the construction of the so-called TAPI pipeline which, they hope, will pump gas from Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent.

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(News report from Issue No. 242, published on Aug. 7 2015)

Explosion hits pipeline from Azerbaijan’s Caspian Sea

AUG. 4 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – An explosion in Turkey on the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars-Ezurum gas pipeline has raised worries that Kurdish fighters and other factions may target energy transport infrastructure carrying oil and gas from the Azerbaijan’s Caspian Sea to Europe. Media reported an explosion on a remote section of the pipeline in east Turkey.

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(News report from Issue No. 242, published on August 7 2015)

Statoil quits Azerbaijani fields

JULY 20 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Statoil, the oil and gas company part owned by the Norwegian government, has decided to sell its 20% stake in the Trans- Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) project that will pump gas from Azerbaijani fields in the Caspian to consumers in Europe.

Rovnag Abdullayev, the head of Azerbaijani oil and gas company SOCAR, announced the news on Azerbaijani TV.

“Statoil has decided to leave the TAP project completely, and there is a company which is ready to buy its stake,” ANS TV quoted him as saying.

“Several companies have expressed an interest in buying Statoil’s stake, and it would be better if several companies would buy it.”

Statoil declined to comment.

If confirmed, Statoil’s decision to quit TAP is probably more a reflection on how it is

re-adjusting its portfolio rather than on the project itself. Statoil has already said it wants to reduce its exposure to risk in its portfolio and has sold its stakes in the giant Shah Deniz field in the Caspian Sea as well as in the South Caucasus Pipeline.

Stakes in these projects were snapped up by SOCAR, BP and Malaysia’s Petronas and Statoil’s stake in TAP will attract bids from companies looking for a high-profile project.

TAP is an 870km pipeline project that should link up with the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline near the Turkey-Greece border which will then carry Azerbaijani gas onto central Europe.

The current TAP shareholders are BP (20%), SOCAR (20%), Statoil (20%), Belgium’s Fluxys (19%), Spain’s Enagas (16%) and Swiss company Axpo (5%).

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(News report from Issue No. 241, published on July 23 2015)

Comment: Iran deal will give Central Asia an economic boost

JULY 23 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Many Central Asian countries have pledged their support for a deal between Iran and Western countries over its nuclear programme that will allow sanctions to be lifted. The positive feeling is mutual. In April 2015, Iran’s Foreign Minister noted that there is “no ceiling for the expansion of relations with regional countries, whether in the Caucasus or in Central Asia”.

Central Asia and Iran have already been cooperating for some time.

December 2014 saw Europe via Iran the inauguration of the new Iran-Turkmenistan-Kazakhstan railroad, linking Central Asia to Iran’s southern ports. Iran has oil swap deals with both countries.

Turkmenistan also has gas pipelines running to Iran and in 2010 Iran sent equipment to Tajikistan for the construction of the Sangtuda-2 hydro- power plant.

Increased formal, and more flexible, cooperation will certainly benefit Central Asia. Iran will give Central Asia greater access to Middle Eastern and European markets. The energy export potential is attractive, particularly given that last year Russia said it would stop buying Central Asian gas, and Turkmenistan recently accused Gazprom of failing to pay debts. Supplying Europe with gas via Iran may be more feasible for Turkmenistan. The opening up of Iran also provides another legitimate partner in the region to counterbalance Russian and Chinese dominance, as is a key aim of the region’s “multi-vector foreign policy”.

However, it will also produce new competition in the region. In August 2014, before any nuclear deal was signed, Iran announced it would no longer import gas from Turkmenistan, instead building up domestic production. Having been excluded from markets for so long, Iran will want to build up its own trade partners rather than act as a transit country for Central Asia. Moreover, more Iranian oil on the market may cause a drop in oil prices, impacting Kazakhstan at already difficult times.

One thing is certain — new transport and energy infrastructure will need to be built for any Iranian reintegration to take place. China will no doubt be looking with interest at the opportunities this presents.

By Sarah Lain, Research Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London

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(News report from Issue No. 241, published on July 23 2015)

Turkmen minister visits Afghanistan

JULY 23 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan’s foreign minister Rashid Meredov will travel to Afghanistan for talks with his Uzbek counterpart, media reported. Turkmenistan has become increasingly worried about the build up of Taliban forces on its borders. It also has an interest in stability in Afghanistan because of the proposed TAPI pipeline that will pump gas to Pakistan and India.

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(News report from Issue No. 241, published on July 23 2015)

Turkmenistan hopes to finish East-West pipeline

JULY 23 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan hopes to complete construction of is 300km East- West gas pipeline by the end of the year, local media reported quoting government officials. The pipeline is important because it will pump gas from Turkmenistan’s fields in the east to the Caspian Sea for shipment to Europe.

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(News report from Issue No. 241, published on July 23 2015)

Gazprom has not paid for gas says Turkmenistan

JULY 8 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan’s oil and gas ministry accused Russia’s Gazprom of failing to pay for natural gas it has supplied it with this year, aggravating a bitter row between the two countries.

Gazprom declined to comment. “Since the beginning of 2015, Gazprom has not paid its debts to the state corporation Turkmengaz for the volumes of Turkmen gas it supplied,” the Turkmen government statement said on its website.

“Russian company Gazprom has become insolvent on its natural gas purchase-and-sale contracts due to the continued global economic crisis and economic sanctions imposed by Western nations on Russia.”

Turkmenistan and Russia have publicly rowed before. In 2014, Gazprom slashed the amount of gas it imported from Turkmenistan to 11b cubic metres (bcm). In 2015, it planned to buy 4bcm. This is a huge drop from previous purchases. In 2008, Gazprom bought 40 bcm from Turkmenistan. And the row has also sucked in other sectors.

In 2010, Turkmenistan expelled Russian mobile phone operator MTS from the country. It later re-installed it.

The drop in Russian gas purchases has forced Turkmenistan to look elsewhere for clients. China has become its biggest client and it is trying to win contracts from the European Union.

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(News report from Issue No. 239, published on July 9 2015)

Azerbaijan’s president welcomes Italian firm to TAP stake

JULY 9 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev said he would welcome Italian infrastructure company Snam taking a stake in the planned Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) which will pump gas from Azerbaijan to Europe.

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(News report from Issue No. 239, published on July 9 2015)