FEB. 20 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Norwegian energy giant Statoil confirmed that it had pulled out of the Abay oil prospect in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea, media reported. A Statoil spokesman said that a technical and commercial evaluation of the project had triggered the withdrawal.
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(News report from Issue No. 125, published on Feb. 22 2013)
FEB. 20 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Norwegian energy giant Statoil confirmed that it had pulled out of the Abay oil prospect in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea, media reported. A Statoil spokesman said that a technical and commercial evaluation of the project had triggered the withdrawal.
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(News report from Issue No. 125, published on Feb. 22 2013)
JAN. 31 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s government approved the purchase by India’s state-owned energy company ONGC Videsh, of a 2.72% stake in the Azeri-Chirag- Guneshli (ACG) oil fields and a 2.36% stake in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline from the US’s Hess for $1b. Both ACG and BTC are Azerbaijani flagship projects.
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(News report from Issue No. 122, published on Feb. 1 2013)
JAN. 31 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s government approved the purchase by India’s state-owned energy company ONGC Videsh, of a 2.72% stake in the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) oil fields and a 2.36% stake in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline from the US’s Hess for $1b. Both ACG and BTC are Azerbaijani flagship projects.
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(News report from Issue No. 122, published on Feb. 1 2013)
DEC. 30 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s oil production dropped by 3.7% in 2012, mainly due to lower-than-expected output at the BP-led Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli field, the head of Azerbaijan’s state oil company, Rovnag Abdullayev, said. Oil and gas are the mainstays of Azerbaijan’s economy.
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(News report from Issue No. 119, published on Jan. 11 2013)
JAN. 4 2013 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan is close to agreeing a deal with top Spanish soccer side Athletico Madrid to sponsor their shirt for the next 1-1/2 seasons, media reported. Flush with cash from energy revenues, Azerbaijan has been on an international marketing drive.
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(News report from Issue No. 119, published on Jan. 11 2013)
DEC. 17 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s state oil fund, SOFAZ, bought a $285m building in central London, its first significant purchase for its new international property portfolio, media reported. Azerbaijan’s wealth fund is worth an estimated $33b.
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(News report from Issue No. 118, published on Dec. 28 2012)
NOV. 26 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Touted as an emerging superpower, India has still appeared sluggish in exerting its influence over Central Asia.
India’s moves in the region had been either incremental, such as talks with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan on military cooperation, or long term, such as the TAPI pipeline which will, if everything goes to plan, pump gas from Turkmenistan across Afghanistan and Pakistan to India.
This week, though, India took a giant leap forward in cementing real influence in the region. US energy company ConocoPhillips said it intended to sell its 8.4% stake in the Kashagan oil field development project not to Kazakh state energy company KazMunaiGas but to India’s state-run ONGC.
This is significant as KazMunaiGas would have had the first option to buy the stake. Instead, KazMunaiGas appears to have stood aside to allow ONGC in, although this could still change. It’s going to cost ONGC a reported $5b but with it comes significant influence. Kashagan is Kazakhstan’s most high-profile and prestigious energy project.
Websites have also reported that India wants to invest directly into Turkmenistan’s gas fields. If confirmed, this would be more evidence of India’s stirring ambition in the region.
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(News report from Issue No. 115, published on Nov. 30 2012)
NOV. 28 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan produced 2.2% less oil in the first 10 months of the year compared to the same period in 2011, official data showed. Gas production also dropped. Azerbaijani officials have heaped most of the blame onto BP which is managing the under-performing Azeri-Chirag- Guneshli Caspian Sea field.
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(News report from Issue No. 115, published on Nov. 30 2012)
NOV. 21 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – A senior official at SOCAR, Azerbaijan’s state energy company, hinted that the BP-lead group developing the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) field in the Caspian Sea would be expected to invest more cash into the project to maintain production, media reported. Azerbaijan has complained about below-expected production rates at the field.
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(News report from Issue No. 114, published on Nov. 23 2012)
