Tag Archives: hydrocarbons

Kazakhstan’s Kazmunaigas and Vitol strike $3b futures deal

DEC. 2 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazmunaigas, Kazakhstan’s state-owned energy company, said it reached an agreement with international oil trader Vitol for the forward sale of crude oil for up to $3b, a deal that the debt-ridden Kazakh producer needs to maintain financial stability during a period of low oil prices.

Vitol will buy oil from Kazmunaigas’ share of oil produced at the Tengiz field in western Kazakhstan and then pumped by the CPC pipeline around the northern tip of the Caspian Sea to Novorossiysk in Russia.

Kazmunaigas, commonly known as KMG, will receive advance payments in the short term.

“It is expected that KMG will be able to draw the first tranche within 2-4 months,” the company said in a statement.

Neither company disclosed the amount of oil that will be traded and the duration of the contract, but a Bulletin calculation showed that the deal could range between 3 and 5 years, depending on how much of the 2-3m tonnes of oil KMG exports each year from Tengiz Vitol will buy and how big the discount is.

By committing to the sale of futures, Kazmunaigas earnsmuch needed cash in the short term to cover its outstanding debts. But there will be a reasonable discount which will manifest itself over the next few years.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 259, published on Dec. 4 2015)

Stock market: Tethys Petroleum, Roxi Petroleum

DEC. 4 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Oil prices fell by 2.3% to $43/barrel of Brent crude this week.

Tethys Petroleum shares jumped 15% in one day on Dec. 2 to 4.88p, but fell later in the week to close at 4.50p on Friday, a 5.9% increase over the last week.

Roxi Petroleum shares fell sharply to 7p on Friday, down 10% from last week.

Gold prices rose by 2.7% this week to $1,086/ounce, which, together with positive industrial news, propped up the region’s principal gold miners.

Kyrgyzstan-focused miner Centerra Gold gained around 6% this week on the Toronto Stock Exchange, closing at 7.61 Canadian dollars on Friday.

After announcing a new financing deal for its gold deposit in Armenia, Toronto-listed gold miner Lydian International shares gained 30% in just two days. Lydian share price then fell back to 0.27 Canadian dollars on Friday.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 259, published on Dec. 4 2015)

Azerbaijan’s ACG production drops

NOV. 30 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — BP, the British operator of Azerbaijan’s largest oilfield, Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG), said in a statement that production in the first three-quarters of 2015 showed a decline of 2.4% compared to last year. ACG’s oil production is vital for the Azerbaijani economy. In the first nine months of this year, ACG averaged 640,000 barrels/day, against 655,700 barrels/day last year. Maintenance work in Q3 2015 slowed production.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 259, published on Dec. 4 2015)

Azerbaijani company wants partners for Greek distributor deal

DEC. 10 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — SOCAR, Azerbaijan’s energy company, has to sell a 17% stake in the Greek gas distributor DESFA by the end of June 2016 to comply with EU ownership regulations, media quoted the Greek authorities as saying.SOCAR bought a 66% stake in DESFA in 2013 although the European Commission later said that under 2009 rules it had to bring its stake in DESFA down to 49%. Belgium’s Fluxys and Spain’s Enagas have submitted a joint offer for the stake. Italy’s Snam has also said it would be interested in buying it.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 260, published on Dec. 11 2015)

Chinese Kyrgyz refinery opens

NOV. 28 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – A $60m Chinese-built oil refinery opened in Tokmok in the north of Kyrgyzstan, the second refinery that China has constructed in the country. Both the Chinese-refineries will rely on Russian crude oil to operate. Kyrgyzstan has been facing a shortage of refined petrol products.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 259, published on Dec. 4 2015)

Kazakhstan opens $1.2b gas pipeline

DEC. 4 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan’s Kaztransgas, the state- owned pipeline monopoly, opened a third pipeline pumping gas to China, highlighting Chinese dominance over Central Asia’s energy resources.

Line C will bring the total capacity of the Kazakhstan-China pipeline to 55b cubic metres of gas a year. The Kazakhstan-China pipeline is part of

the 1,300km pipeline network that spans Central Asia. Its main purpose is to pump Turkmen gas to China, although Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan also contribute.

The pipeline cost $1.2b to build and was described by Kaztransgas as the biggest infrastructure project in independent Kazakhstan.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 259, published on Dec. 4 2015)

Lukoil ups Ubekistan’s production

DEC. 1 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russian oil company Lukoil said it increased both investment and production in Uzbekistan’s gas sector in the first nine months of 2015. Investment grew by 38% to $759m, compared to last year. Production rose to 4.7b cubic metres, up 26% from around 3.7b cubic metres last year. Lukoil is one of Uzbekistan’s biggest investors. Uzbekistan has said it wants to increase its gas production.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 259, published on Dec. 4 2015)

China signs deal on Kazakh refinery

NOV. 27 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – China Petroleum Engineering & Construction signed a deal with Kazakhstan’s state-owned Kazmunaigas to modernise the oil refinery at Shymkent, south Kazakhstan. The upgrade will also mean the refinery’s capacity increases to 6m tonnes from 5.25m tonnes. Kazakhstan needs to increase its refinery capacity.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 259, published on Dec. 4 2015)

Fire breaks out on Azerbaijani oil rig

DEC. 4 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – At least one person has died and another 29 people are missing after an oil platform in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea caught fire.The platform is part of the Gunehsli field which is operated by BP.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 259, published on Dec. 4 2015)

Kazakh government to cut oil exports

NOV. 23 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – In a move designed to help oil exporters, the Kazakh government said it would cut export duty on a tonne of oil to $40 from $60. Some exporters in Kazakhstan have simply stopped production until either oil prices improved or taxes were cut.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 258, published on Nov. 27 2015)