MAY 28 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov sacked his energy minister, Bairamgeldy Nedirov, for “serious shortcomings”, media quoted the presidential office as saying. Mr Nedirov had served as energy minister since Aug. 2008. His dismissal on May 25 came two days after signing a gas deal with India and Pakistan.
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(News report from Issue No. 090, published on June 1 2012)
MAY 19 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – An Uzbek-South Korean joint venture said it had secured a $2.5b loan from a consortium of banks to build a gas plant in the northwest of the country. The planned gas plant at the Surgil field is considered an important part of Uzbekistan’s future energy policy and will create 1,000 jobs.
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(News report from Issue No. 089, published on May 25 2012)
APRIL 17 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s state energy company SOCAR and BP agreed an important engineering and design step towards the 2nd phase development of the Shah Deniz gas field in the Caspian Sea. Shah Deniz’s development is vital both for the expansion of Azerbaijan’s energy sector and for hitting European gas demand.
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(News report from Issue No. 084, published on April 20 2012)
APRIL 1 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbekistan started pumping gas to China under an agreement signed in 2010. The deal continues to cement China’s dominance over Central Asia’s energy reserves. Uzbekistan has already had to divert gas from Tajikistan to meet its contract with China.
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(News report from Issue No. 082, published on April 6 2012)
MARCH 1 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – BP will boost investment in the Chirag, Azeri and Guneshli oilfields in the Caspian Sea to $3.2b this year, up from $2.6b in 2011. It also said that total investment in the Shah Deniz gas field, which BP operates with Statoil and Azerbaijani state energy company Socar, will nearly double to $1.55b.
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(News report from Issue No. 080, published on March 8 2012)
FEB. 12 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s state energy company SOCAR said it wanted European partners for its planned Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) across Turkey. TANAP is considered by some as a rival to the EU-backed Nabucco pipeline proposal. SOCAR will offer part of its 80% stake in TANAP to Western energy companies.
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(News report from Issue No. 77, published on Feb. 16 2012)
FEB. 16 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Attacks against Israeli targets in Georgia, India and Thailand and an acrimonious row between Baku and Tehran have thrown a spotlight over the relationship between the South Caucasus and Iran.
The same day that Georgian security forces disarmed a car bomb in Tbilisi another exploded in Delhi, injuring an Israeli woman (Feb. 13). Israel has blamed Iran for both attacks and another in Bangkok the following day.
Three weeks earlier the authorities in Baku arrested two Iranians for conspiring to assassinate Israeli diplomats, although Iran denied the charges.
The South Caucasus has a complex, fluid relationship with Iran.
Over the past year, much to the irritation of the US, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia have strengthened ties with Iran. Gas deals have been made, railway and air links solidified, visa regulations waived and military delegations hosted. Private business and trade links have also surged.
But behind these strengthening connections relations often remain strained.
Azerbaijan has built up good links with Israel and Georgia’s main backer is the US. Both are Iran’s sworn enemy. Armenia has more cordial ties with Iran but it also needs to be flexible.
The South Caucasus countries have to deal with their powerful neighbour but they are also wary.
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(News report from Issue No. 77, published on Feb. 16 2012)
JAN. 23 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia’s Gazprom said it would buy 3b cubic metres (bcm) of gas from Azerbaijan this year, up from 500mcm in 2009 and an estimated 2bcm in 2011. Russia and Azerbaijan are competing for potential gas customers. Azerbaijan is expected to announce soon which project transporting gas to Europe from the Caspian Sea it will support.
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(News report from Issue No. 74, published on Jan. 26 2012)
JAN. 7 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov fired Aman Khanaliyev, the head of the state energy company Turkmengaz. Mr Khanaliyev had been in the post for a year. This is the third time Mr Berdymukhamedov has sacked the head of Turkmengaz since he became president in 2007.
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(News report from Issue No. 72, published on Jan. 13 2012)
JAN. 4 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Local media quoted the head of the Tajik foreign ministry’s information department, Daviat Nazri, saying Uzbekistan had cut off gas to Tajikistan. The Uzbek authorities have not commented. Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have been locked in a protracted row about energy and food supplies.
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(News report from Issue No. 71, published on Jan. 5 2012)
