Tag Archives: pipelines

Turkmenistan builds east-west gas pipeline

MAY 13 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmenistan has finished building a pipeline that crosses the country from east to west, Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said on a trip to Vienna.

The pipeline connects Shatlyk, near the giant gas field of Galkynysh, to Belek, a few kilometres south of Turkmenbashi, on the Caspian Sea coast.

The east-west flow of the pipeline shows that Turkmenistan is poised, eager even, to send gas to Europe. Mr Berdymukhamedov hinted, strongly, at a similar reason for the pipeline.

“The construction of this pipeline, which is capable in the long term, if necessary, to transport large volumes of Turkmen energy resources in the right direction, will provide additional guarantees for their reliable and stable export,” he said.

Europe wants to import gas from Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan, wants to broaden its client base away from China.

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(News report from Issue No. 231, published on May 13 2015)

Petronas completes Statoil deal in Azerbaijan

APRIL 30 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Malaysia’s state energy company Petronas completed the $2.25b buyout of the Statoil’s assets in Azerbaijan, making it one of the biggest players on the Azerbaijani oil and gas scene.

The deal included a 15.5% stake in the Shah Deniz gas project, a 15.5% stake in the South Caucasus Pipeline Company and a 12.4% stake in the Azerbaijan Gas Supply Company.

Importantly, too, Azerbaijan’s state oil and gas company SOCAR took over operational control of the South Caucasus Pipeline Company which pumps gas from the Shah Deniz project, across Georgia to Turkey. From there it links up to the Turkish gas pipeline network.

Statoil surprised analysts last October when it agreed the deal. At the time it said that it wanted to reduce the proportion of investment in its portfolio in favour of higher value projects.

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(News report from Issue No. 230, published on May 6 2015)

India pushes TAPI project with Turkmenistan

APRIL 7 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – India’s external affairs minister, Sushma Swaraj, flew to Ashgabat to meet Turkmen officials to, possibly, push the TAPI pipeline project along. TAPI aims to carry Turkmen gas to India via Afghanistan and Pakistan.
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(News report from Issue No. 226, published on April 8 2015)

Uzbekistan to build pipeline to China

MARCH 26 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Uzbekistan will start building a fourth gas pipeline to China at the end of this year, Interfax news agency quoted an official from the state energy company Uzbekneftegaz as saying. The pipeline is expected to be 260km long and cost around $800m.
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(News report from Issue No. 225, published on April 12015)

EU wants gas pipeline from Turkmenistan

MARCH 25 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The EU wants to revive a project to build a gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to Europe, Reuters reported quoting an EU diplomat based in Ashgabat. Since a civil war erupted in Ukraine last year, the EU has tried to work out how to dilute its reliance on Russia for gas supplies.
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(News report from Issue No. 224, published on March 25 2015)

TAPI pipeline to cost $7.6b, says India

MARCH 20 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – A gas pipeline that will run from Turkmenistan, across Afghanistan to Pakistan and India will cost $7.6b to build, India’s oil and gas ministry said. TAPI, as the pipeline is called, is one of the most ambitious pipeline projects in the world.
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(News report from Issue No. 224, published on March 25 2015)

BP says it is close to deal on TANAP pipeline

MARCH 25 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Giving a boost to the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline project (TANAP), BP said it was close to a deal to become one of its stakeholders.

In an interview with Reuters, Chris Schlueter, BP country manager in Georgia, said good progress on a deal had been made.

“We are very, very close,” he said. “I think (we will sign the deal) in the next two months.”

Shares in BP rose on the news.

TANAP is seen as a vital plank of the EU’s future energy policy, diversifying away from Russia. It will carry Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian Sea, across Georgia, Turkey and the Balkans to central Europe.

Analysts have said that they consider it vital that, alongside Turkish and Azerbaijani companies, BP is a major shareholder in the project.
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(News report from Issue No. 224, published on March 25 2015)

Aliyev launches TANAP pipeline

MARCH 17 2015 (The Bulletin) – Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev flew to Kars in Turkey to launch construction of the $10b Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) which will pump gas from the Caspian to Europe. Also present were Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan and Georgian president Giorgi Margvelashvili.
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(News report from Issue No. 223, published on March 18 2015)

TAPI update

FEB. 11 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — The countries developing the planned 1,800km pipeline to run from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan to Pakistan and India failed to announce a company to lead its construction as had been expected at a meeting in Islamabad. Media had said that France’s Total would be announced as the TAPI consortium leader.
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(News report from Issue No. 219, published on Feb. 18 2015)

TAPI contractor

FEB. 10 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmen officials are due to meet in Islamabad with counterparts from Pakistan, India and Afghanistan to decide on the contractor to build the TAPI pipeline, media reported. Sources said the leading candidate to build the pipeline to pump Turkmen gas to Asia is Total.
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(News report from Issue No. 218, published on Feb. 11 2015)