14 May 2008 News Digest
KYRGYZSTAN HOSTS REGIONAL SUMMIT ON ENERGY, WATER COOPERATION
5 May
Kyrgyz Deputy Minister of Industry, Energy and Fuel Resources Akylbek Tumenbaev opened a meeting in Bishkek on May 2 of officials from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan to discuss plans to improve regional cooperation in the management and use of water and energy resources. The officials, primarily deputy ministers from each country's energy ministry, focused on the water and energy resources of Kyrgyzstan's Naryn-Syr Daria river basin. At the end of the meeting, which is set to reconvene on May 14-15, participants adopted specific measures governing the use of the water and energy resources at the Kyrgyz Toktogul reservoir, which provides 40 percent of Kyrgyzstan's hydroelectric energy. The Kyrgyz government recently decided to introduce a new electricity-rationing regime, lasting for at least six months, that entails cutting electricity supplies for seven hours every night. The rationing program is intended to offset a dramatic decrease in the water level at the Toktogul reservoir. (AKIpress.org)
KYRGYZ PRESIDENT APPOINTS OPPOSITION FIGURE TO STATE ENERGY POST
5 May
President Kurmanbek Bakiev announced on May 2 the appointment of Feliks Kulov, the leader of the opposition Ar-Namys (Dignity) Party, to head a new state energy investment body, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reported. Kulov served as prime minister following Bakiev's election as president in 2005, but his subsequent renomination was rejected twice by parliament. He later defected to the opposition and led mass protests against the Bakiev government. Kulov recently withdrew from the opposition's "People's Kurultai" (Grand Congress) or alternative parliament. Kulov assumes the leadership of a newly created state entity empowered to oversee and develop small and medium-sized electrical power industries, according to Kabar. The body also seeks to expand the supply of electricity to Kyrgyzstan's mountainous and remote rural areas. (RFE/RL)
TURKMEN PRESIDENT ORDERS REMOVAL OF PREDECESSOR'S GOLD STATUE
5 May
At a cabinet meeting on May 2, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov ordered the removal of a rotating gold statue of his late predecessor, Saparmurat Niyazov, from the center of the Turkmen capital. The order called for the 74-meter-high gold-plated statue, officially known as the "Arch of Neutrality," to be relocated to the outskirts of Ashgabat from its present location near the presidential palace. Berdymukhammedov also recently decided to reverse Niyazov's official renaming of several days and months after himself and his family members, effectively restoring the previous names of the months and days of the calendar and reverting to the traditional Turkmen-language translation of the months and days. Berdymukhammedov also issued a pardon for some 900 convicts. (RFE/RL)
ARMENIAN EX-PRESIDENT ACCUSES SUCCESSOR, SETS CONDITIONS FOR DIALOGUE
5 May
Addressing on May 2 a congress in Yerevan of the Armenian National Movement (HHSh) he founded 19 years earlier, Levon Ter-Petrossian laid the blame for the March 1 clashes in Yerevan between police and security forces and his supporters squarely on Robert Kocharian, who succeeded him as president in 1998 and relinquished power last month to Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian. Ter-Petrossian said that Kocharian "was the only official who could give an order for the use of force and to shoot at peaceful demonstrators." He added, however, that as president-elect Sarkisian should have prevented Kocharian from doing so, and that "Sarkisian has no more convenient and effective way to prove his innocence than to agree to an independent international investigation" into the events that culminated in the violence. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) called last month for such a probe, and Sarkisian has set up a working group to address that and related demands. Ter-Petrossian said that while he still does not acknowledge Sarkisian as legitimately elected (Ter-Petrossian claims to have won the February 19 presidential ballot with 65 percent of the vote), he accepts that the new Sarkisian administration is a "real political factor" and is prepared to embark on a dialogue provided the administration complies with the PACE demands. He added that such a dialogue should contribute to the implementation of real reforms and creating "a normal field for political activity." Ter-Petrossian further announced that he and the 20-odd parties and NGOs that supported his presidential bid will refrain from any move that could result in "political upheaval" at a time when Azerbaijan is increasing the pressure for concessions from Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh. And he expressed regret that European organizations did not condemn more trenchantly the procedural violations that marred the February 19 ballot, implying that that failure was a key contributing factor to Kocharian's decision to resort to violence against the protesters on March 1. (RFE/RL)
GEORGIAN-RUSSIAN WAR OF WORDS CONTINUES
5 May
The Georgian Foreign Ministry on May 2 formally demanded that Russia withdraw immediately the additional peacekeeping troops it has deployed to the Abkhaz conflict zone under the CIS aegis. Then late on May 3, the Georgian Foreign Ministry issued a statement rejecting as untrue the assertion earlier that day by an unnamed Russian Defense Ministry official that Georgia is preparing to launch a military incursion into Abkhazia within the next few days. It likewise denied a statement by the same unnamed official that plans are being drawn up to evacuate Foreign Embassy staff from Tbilisi. Also on May 3, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told journalists in Moscow after meeting in London with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that Georgia's "inability to negotiate" problematic issues with Russia derives from the support it receives from the international community for its aspiration to join NATO. (RFE/RL)
FIVE POLICE KILLED BY ROADSIDE BOMB IN GROZNY
5 May
Five police officers were killed late on May 4 and two injured when a radio-controlled explosive device exploded in Grozny's Staropromyslovsky Raion. On May 3, the Chechen Interior Ministry confirmed that a clash took place the previous day near the village of Roshni-Chu in southern Chechnya between a combined force of Chechen police and Russian Interior Ministry troops and some 30 militants in which two of the pro-Moscow contingent were killed. (regnum.ru)
ABKHAZ FOREIGN MINISTER HAILS DE FACTO RUSSIAN RECOGNITION
6 May
Sergei Shamba argued in an interview published in "Izvestia" on May 6 that recent moves by Russia -- the unilateral lifting of the sanctions imposed by the CIS in 1996 and outgoing Russian President Vladimir Putin's directive on upgrading economic and other cooperation with the unrecognized republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia -- constitute de facto recognition by Russia of Abkhazia as an independent state, and thus herald "the start of a process of building interstate ties between our countries." Shamba said that while some 90 percent of the current population of Abkhazia hold Russian passports, there is "no need" for Abkhazia to become a Russian Federation subject, and he touted as the future model for Russian-Abkhaz relations U.S. relations with Taiwan. On April 28, kavkaz-uzel.ru quoted Shamba as saying Abkhazia is ready to sign a military cooperation agreement with Russia. Shamba claimed on May 6 in Sukhum(i) that all four Georgian spy drones allegedly downed over Abkhazia in recent months (on March 18, April 20 and May 4) were hit by Buk ground-to-air missiles. Georgian video footage purported to be of the interception of the drone destroyed on April 20 showed it being hit by a missile fired from what Georgia claims was a Russian MiG. Russia claims the jet was an export version of a Russian MiG not used in the Russian armed forces, and that the video was taken over a body of water the Russian Foreign Ministry says was demonstrably not the Black Sea. Abkhaz air defense spotted a fifth drone overflying Ochamchira Raion early in the morning of May 5 but refrained from destroying it. The Georgian Foreign Ministry on May 5 summoned a senior Russian diplomat to inform him of Georgia's withdrawal from an agreement concluded in April 1995 between the Defense Ministries of the two countries on cooperation in the sphere of antiaircraft defense. (RFE/RL)
ARMENIAN OPPOSITION CLAIMS CRACKDOWN CONTINUES
6 May
A spokesman for former President and defeated presidential candidate Levon Ter-Petrossian told RFE/RL's Armenian Service on May 5 that not only have the Armenian authorities failed to release more than 100 opposition leaders and activists taken into custody following the March 1-2 clashes in Yerevan between police and security forces and Ter-Petrossian's supporters, but that arrests and detentions are continuing across the country. According to the Prosecutor-General's Office, 89 people are currently under arrest, most of them on charges stemming from the violence. The authorities insist that none of them was arrested for political reasons. Also on May 5, investigators formally requested a further two-month extension of former Foreign Minister Alexander Arzumanian's pretrial detention, Noyan Tapan reported quoting Arzumanian's U.S.-born wife Melissa Brown, and the Court of Appeals upheld the decision by a lower-level Yerevan court to extend by a further month the pretrial detention of Nor Zhamanakner (New Times) party leader Aram Karapetian, whose application to register as a candidate in the February 19 presidential ballot was rejected in December. Karapetian subsequently threw his support behind Ter-Petrossian, and was arrested on February 24 on charges of bearing false witness. Arzumanian was arrested on March 10. (RFE/RL)
President Nazarbaev instituted jubilee medal to honor Astana
7 May
President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbaev has instituted Astananyn 10 Zhyldygy (Ten Years of Astana) medal in connection with the tenth birthday of the Kazakh capital, Nazarbaev s press service said on Tuesday. According to the press release, the medal will be awarded to citizens of Kazakhstan and foreign nationals for significant contribution to the development of independent Kazakhstan and its capital city Astana. The first awardees of this medal are participants and invalids of the Great Patriotic War, it is indicated in the statement. Kazakhstan announced Astana its new capital city in December 1997. (Interfax-Kazakhstan)
Kazakhstan General Prosecutor’ s Office forfeited Aliev s and his associates property
7 May
General Prosecutor’ s Office has executed the forfeiture of poverty and possessions of Rakhat Aliev and his accomplishes, who were found guilty of multiple offences including treason, the spokesman from the Prosecutor s Office Saparbek Nurpeisov said. "As you now, the ruling of the Almaty regional court read on January 15, 2008 provided for seizure of property and assets owned by Aliev and his accomplishes to the benefit of the state. The court order is being executed under our supervision, he told a Wednesday briefing in Astana on Wednesday.
"Last week the Habar TV office building on the Republic Squarer, Rakhat swimming pool building and 108,000 of its shares, sauna and sport complexes in Koldy and Rakhat villages, Triera land plot, Shamalgan complex and cash of nearly 57 ml tenge and 30,000 Euro were confiscated, he said. Nurpeisov also said that the Atyrau airport, a maintenance hangar, five TU aircrafts and three Mi-8 helicopters have been frozen. "All the forfeited assets are given to the disposal of local governments without being auctioned to be employed for the needs of the states, he added. As reported, on January 15 the Almaty court found Aliev guilty of kidnapping, organizing a criminal group, extortion, robbery, misappropriation of state property, and fraud, and sentenced him in absentia to 20 years in prison along with the confiscation of his property. Aliev was tried in absentia since he fled to Austria. He had just been dismissed as Kazakhstan's ambassador to Austria and to the international organizations based in Vienna -- notably the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) -- when allegations against him were first made public in May 2007. Nazarbaev had made Aliev the ambassador to Austria after accusations surfaced in January 2007 that he had kidnapped three top officials from Nurbank and beat and threatened them into selling their stakes in the bank at very low rates. Two of those bank officials are still missing. (Interfax-Kazakhstan)
Caspian Hub Project in Aktau takes shape
7 May
Caspian Energy Hub in Aktau (administrative center of Mangistau oblast in western Kazakhstan) is taking shape, said chairman of board of directors of Mangistau Investment Company JSC Serik Ualiev. At the economic forum due on May 19 in Sharm al-Sheikh all concerned participants of the project are expected to sign a preliminary agreement for this project. The document will specify investments and functions of investors in the project, he told a Tuesday press conference in Almaty. Mangistau, set up by the initiative of the regional administration in spring 2006 to draw investments into the non-raw sector of the region, was looking for an investor for the project.
According to earlier reports, project participants will include Gulf Finance House (GFH), PFC Energy International, Samruk Holdings, Kazyna Fund of Sustainable Development, akimat of Mangistau oblast, Mangistau investment company and Dunie Stock Energy. The parties signed a relevant memorandum on April 9 in Astana. As reported, a joint venture will be established for the project that takes 3-5 years. $400 ml investments will be pumped into the first stage of the project valued at more than $10 bl. Caspian Energy Hub will incorporate a number of think tanks. These include a science and technological park, a geophysical data lab, technical manpower training center, IT development center, environment research center and a center of renewable energy source. Today, hydrocarbons extraction account for over 90% of the gross regional product of Mangistau oblast. In 2006 the local administration proposed integrated investment project Land-Sea-Sky to diversify the region s economy. The project embraces development of tourism, transport infrastructure, residential construction, etc. (Interfax-Kazakhstan)
Kazkommertsbank buys out 35% of Kazkommerts-Polis from EBRD
7 May
Kazkommertsbank (KKB) has bought 35% of Kazkommerts-Polis, insurance company, from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). "As a result Kazkommertsbank has become a sole owner of Kazkommerts-Polis. The bank has executed the option stipulated by the agreement signed earlier by
Kazkommertsbank and EBRD," KKB announced in its statement. Before the transaction EBRD had been a major shareholders of Kazkommerts-Polis for five years. The value of the deal has not been revealed. Kazkommertsbank, meanwhile, increased the charter capital of its other insurance subsidiary, Kazkommerts-Life, up to 1.09 bl tenge (current exchange rate120.48/$1) by issuing 290,000 ordinary shares. The bank used its preemptive right to purchase the entire issue. In the first half of 2007 the Interfax-1000 ranking of CIS banks rated KKB the fourth biggest trade bank in the CIS by assets and the first among Kazakhstan’s commercial banks. Kazkommerts-Polis established in 1996 operates 22 types of insurance licenses and runs offices in 18 cities of Kazakhstan. Kazkommerts-Life registered in 2006 has been named one of the top three insurance companies in Kazakhstan last year. (Interfax-Kazakhstan)
Georgia wants European Parliament to condemn Russia s policy in Abkhazia
7 May
Georgia has demanded that the European Parliament (EP) adopt a resolution condemning Russia's policy towards Abkhazia, Georgian European Integration Minister Giorgi Baramidze told journalists in Brussels."We demand that the European Parliament pass a resolution that would stop Russia's aggression against Georgia. Russia should receive a clear and unmistakable signal from Europe that the EU will not allow Russia to annex and occupy Georgia," Baramidze said. Georgian media have reported that MEPs decided to shelve the issue of a resolution condemning Russia's policy at a closed-door meeting of the EP's Foreign Affairs Committee a day earlier. The EP is expected to pass recommendations on the situation in Georgia's conflict zones on Wednesday. (Interfax-AVN)
Russia joining economic sanctions against Iran
8 May
Russia is joining economic sanctions against Iran, the presidential website said on Thursday in comments on a presidential ordinance to that effect. "All state agencies, banks and organizations, as well as legal entities and individuals under Russian jurisdiction, must bear in mind that starting from March 3, 2008, it is prohibited to transit across the Russian territory, to dispatch from the Russian territory to Iran and to supply Iran outside the Russian territory with any items on the list of dual-use equipment, materials and nuclear technologies subject to exports control," the ordinance said. The only exception will be made for equipment, materials, commodities and technologies "for light-water reactors or technical assistance granted or sponsored by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in line with Item 16 of UN Security Council Resolution 1737 of December 23, 2006," the ordinance runs. It is prohibited to transit, export and transfer to Iran from the Russian territory any articles, materials and equipment that may be used for the production of missiles or nuclear products subject to export control, the ordinance runs. The individuals listed in the supplement to the presidential ordinance and the individuals "whose involvement in or support to Iranian sensitive nuclear research or development of nuclear armaments is proven by the UN Security Council or the UN Security Council Committee" shall not be allowed to enter Russia or transit through it, the ordinance runs. It is necessary to be vigilant in assuming new commitments of state financial support to trade with Iran and business contacts between fiscal institutions based in Russia and banks based in Iran, the ordinance runs. "Cargo carried to and from Iran by aircraft or vessels owned by the Iranian companies Iran Air Cargo and the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line must be examined at Russian airports and seaports," the ordinance runs. Then President Vladimir Putin signed the ordinance on May 5, 2008. (Interfax)
Kazakhstan the first country Medvedev to visit as president
8 May
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on May 22-23 will be visiting Kazakhstan on official visit at the invitation of Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbaev, Kremlin press office announced. It is the first Medvedev s visit aboard in the presidential capacity. On May 23-24, following the visit to Astana, Medvedev will proceed to China. (Interfax)
Kazakhstan s ENRC buys 50% of Chinese ferroalloy factory for $14.5 million
8 May
The Kazakh holding Natural Resources Corporation Plc (ENRC) is buying 50% of Xinjiang Tuoli Taihang Ferro-Alloy Co. Ltd, which specializes in ferroalloys, for $14.5 million. The stake is being purchased from Ma Yunpu, one of the main shareholders of the company, ENRC said in a release. Xinjiang Tuoli Taihang Ferro-Alloy is a major ferrochrome producer in China with production capacity of 120,000 tonnes a year. Most of the chrome used by the company is supplied by ENRC, about 70% of the raw materials used by the Chinese company. This deal will enable ENRC to strengthen its positions on the ferroalloy market. "We are inspired by our first acquisition in China, a market we know well and which we hope has good prospects," said the corporation's General Director Johannes Sittard. The deal will be closed after approval by the government of the Chinese province where the factory is located. This is not ENRC's first foreign acquisition over the past month. In early May, ENRC reported having acquired a 50% stake in the iron ore enterprise Bahia Mineracao Limitada (BML, Brazil) from Zamin BM NV
(Zamin) for $300 million. ENRC comprises Kazkhrom, Aluminum of Kazakhstan, the Kazakh Electrolysis Plant, the Zhairem Mining Factory, the Sokolovo-Sarbaisk Mining Association, the Eurasian Energy Corporation, and also ENRC Logistics and ENRC Marketing & Sales. In April 2008, ENRC reported having closed a deal to acquire a controlling stake in the Serovsky Ferroalloy Plant (Russia). The Kazakh government holds a 19.3% stake in ENRC. Its other major shareholder is Kazakhmys, which owns 14.6% of the shares. (Interfax)
Kazakhstan export promotion corporation and LGH team up
7 May
Kazakhstan export promotion corporation and German-based LGH(Landesgewerbeforderungstelle fur das nordrheinwestfalische Handwerk) agreed to join forces. The memorandum on cooperation signed by the parties in Astana entails exchange of experience in promotion and development of exports, corporate management, human resources management; info exchange in foreign trade support, market research; sharing clients and partners database; joint bidding in international tenders and grant programs; assistance in building relations on domestic, regional and international levels, collaboration in holding trainings, arranging trade missions, visits, educational tours, seminars and participating in exhibitions and fairs. Within the cooperation memorandum the sides will also conduct joint research projects, exchange technical appraisals and experts. The Landes-Gewerbeforderungsstelle des nordrhein-westfalischen Handwerks (LGH) is a joint service institution set up both by the chambers and the confederations of skilled trades ( Handwerk ) in the German federal state of North-Rhine Westphalia (NRW). Kazakhstan export promotion corporation, part Kazyna sustainable development fund was established in February 2008. (Interfax-Kazakhstan)
Russia, Kazakhstan found common ground on CPC expansion
8 May
Russian Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko and Kazakh Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sauat Mynbaev have reached a common position on the expansion of the throughput capacity of Caspian Pipeline Consortium's (CPC) pipeline system, the Russian ministry said in a statement. The expansion of the CPC, which is to be carried out in two phases before 2012, will increase throughput capacity to 67 ml tons of oil from 32 ml tons. As part of the expansion, an additional 17 ml tons of Kazakh oil are to be shipped to the Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline. The two ministers also reached an agreement on the development of a joint balance sheet of Russian and Kazakh fuel and energy resources for the period until 2002. Using this balance sheet, joint approaches will be coordinated for the use and development of energy transportation routes. They also touched on prospects for investment projects in the extraction and refining of oil, including projects in third countries. Oil supplies to the Asian-Pacific region hold great potential for both countries, the two ministers noted. The meeting also discussed transportation of Kazakh oil to Baltic countries. The meeting took place within Khristenko visit to Kazakhstan on May 6-7. The CPC owns the Tengiz-Novorossiisk pipeline, which is 1,580 km long and links oil fields in West Kazakhstan with Russia's Black Sea coast. The pipeline pumped 32.6 ml tons of oil in 2007. Russia has repeatedly voiced concerns about the economics of CPC, whose debts total $5 billion, and has linked future expansion of the pipeline to CPC's financial recover, including through oil transport tariff increases and debt reduction. CPC shareholders in September 2007 approved a transport price increase to $38 per ton effective October 1, and a reduction of loan interest rates to 6% from 12.66%. It was also decided at that time that a document on the expansion of the pipeline would be signed by the end of 2008. The feasibility study for expanding the CPC pipeline to 67 ml tons expires in September 2008. Agreeing on a new feasibility study would take up to two years. CPC's board of directors in mid-April approved a partial update of the feasibility study. The multinational ownership interest in the CPC is as follows: Russia -24%, Kazakhstan - 19%, Oman - 7%, Chevron Caspian Pipeline Consortium Company - 15%, LUKArco B.V. - 12.5%, Rosneft/Shell Caspian Ventures Limited - 7.5%, Mobil Caspian Pipeline Company - 7.5%, Agip International (N.A.) NV -2%, BG Overseas Holding Limited - 2%, Kazakhstan Pipeline Ventures LLC - 1.75%, and Oryx Caspian Pipeline LLC- 1.75%. The Russian stake was put under the management of pipeline monopoly Transneft in April 2007. The Russian Industry and Energy Ministry said in early February that it was prepared to consider the possibility of transiting Kazakh oil via Russian territory to the Baltic Pipeline System. (Interfax)
SACKED ARMENIAN GENERAL DENIES BACKING EX-PRESIDENT
9 May
In a written statement on May 8, Lieutenant General Manvel Grigorian, who was dismissed last month from the post of deputy defense minister, denied that he supported Ter-Petrossian in his presidential bid either during the election campaign or, as Ter-Petrossian himself claimed, during the subsequent protests at vote rigging and other violations, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported. Grigorian further downplayed the involvement of members of the influential Yerkrapah union of veterans of the Karabakh war, which he heads, in Ter-Petrossian's election campaign and in the postelection protests that culminated in the March 1-2 violence. "I declare with all responsibility that Yerkrapah has never engaged, and will not become engaged in politics," Grigorian affirmed, stressing that "thousands" of war veterans campaigned for Sarkisian in the presidential ballot. (RFE/RL)
Malaysia's Petronas inks deal to develop more oil fields in Uzbekistan
13 May
Malaysia's national oil company Petroliam Nasional Berhad said Wednesday it has inked a deal to develop new oil fields in Uzbekistan as part of an expansion in the energy-rich central Asian nation. Petronas said its wholly owned subsidiary, PETRONAS Carigali Overseas, has signed a production sharing pact with the Uzbekistan government for the development and production of the Urga, Kuanish and Akhchalak oil fields in the northern region of Ustyurt. Petronas said it also inked an agreement with Uzbekistan national oil firm, Uzbekneftegaz National Holding Company, to undertake a feasibility study for a gas project. It gave no details."The agreements for the two projects will enhance Petronas' presence in the Uzbek oil and gas sector," it said in a statement. The agreements were signed Tuesday in Tashkent. PETRONAS Carigali is already actively involved in a number of oil and gas exploration blocks in Uzbekistan, the statement said. Petronas is also exploring the possibility of developing downstream petrochemical projects in Uzbekistan, it said. (AP)
KOREAN AIR, UZBEKISTAN AIRWAYS TO COOPERATE IN AIR CARGO
13 May
Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's biggest carrier, said today it has clinched a preliminary deal with state-run Uzbekistan Airways to expand cooperation in international air cargo services. Korean Air on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding with the state airline of Uzbekistan to build an international logistics center at Navoi Airport in the Central Asian country, the South Korean carrier said in a statement. The deal calls for Korean Air to provide the Uzbekistan Airways with consultation on the management and operation of the center and offer cargo flights on the Incheon- Navoi-Milano line three times a week, Korean Air said. Uzbekistan Airways will be in charge of getting approval from the Uzbekistan government to build the logistics center and financing it, Korean Air added. Korean Air's participation in the project is part of its efforts to develop new air cargo markets in Central Asian countries, the South Korean carrier added. (Asia Pulse)
Uzbekistan to raise natural gas exports in 2008
14 May
Uzbekistan, a big Central Asian gas exporter, plans to raise shipments by 9 percent in 2008 despite a record-cold winter that hampered output in the opening months of the year, a senior energy official said on Tuesday. Shavkat Mazhitov, deputy head of the state energy company Uzbekneftegas, said that natural gas output will grow to 16 billion cubic metres this year from 14.7 billion in 2007. "We had a harsh winter and lost the pace of growth a little bit," he told reporters. "But at the moment we are recouping losses and have achieved better results than planned. ... That's why we will export as much as we had planned." Uzbekistan, along with Central Asia's top gas exporter Turkmenistan, uses a Soviet-era pipeline network operated by Russian gas monopoly Gazprom for its exports. Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan as well as Kazakhstan, which acts largely as a transit nation, teamed up earlier this year to start charging Gazprom more for their supplies from next year, seeking to bring prices closer to European levels. Mazhitov could not name the price for next year's shipments but said Uzbekistan would export a total of 12 billion cubic metres to Russia this year, while the remainder will go to neighbouring nations including Kazakhstan. Last year Russian shipments were 10.5 billion cubic metres. Gas production in Uzbekistan will rise to 67.8 billion cubic metres compared to last year's 65.3 billion, Mazhitov said. Although Russia remains its biggest export destination, Uzbekistan is studying new export routes and earlier this year agreed to take part in a new pipeline to energy-hungry China. Russia's LUKOIL is a big foreign player on the Uzbek energy market, earmarking $5.5 billion in gas exploration investment in a country where it plans to produce 16 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year by 2015. LUKOIL is part of a consortium developing an Aral Sea production sharing project in Uzbekistan. Other project parters include Malaysia's Petronas [PETR.UL], China's CNPC and Korea National Oil Corporation. (Reuters)
Turkmenistan wants to supply electricity to Europe
14 May
Turkmenistan, warming up to outside contacts after decades of self-imposed isolation, will push ahead with ambitions to supply electricity to as far away as western Europe, state media reported on Wednesday. Central Asia's top natural gas producer, negotiating participation in a proposed EU-backed gas pipeline, is at the centre of competition between Russia and the West over its energy resources and strategic location. On Wednesday, official media reported Turkmenistan, which exports power mainly to neighbours Afghanistan and Iran, was looking at ways to diversify supplies. "In the future Turkmen electricity producers plan to raise exports significantly and not only to nearby nations but also to Pakistan and western Europe," wrote the Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper, which conveys the official line. It did not say how the desert nation intended to transport power to far-off customers but added Turkmenistan, which generates electricity using gas, will raise annual production by a third to 20 billion kilowatt-hours in three to four years. The ex-Soviet state has been emerging from global isolation since President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov came to power in late 2006 promising to reform Turkmenistan's Soviet-style economy and attract more foreign investment. (Reuters)
AZERBAIJAN CELEBRATES LEADER WITH OPENING OF 5-STAR RESORT
14 May
A world-class 5-star rest center, the Caspian Sea Resort, has opened in Nabran, a popular resort located 200 kilometres north of Azerbaijan's capital Baku on the Caspian seashore. The opening is part of the events marking the 85th birthday of the national leader Heydar Aliyev. "The complex, which belongs to the Oriental Hotels network, includes six cottages, each named after one of the Azerbaijani cities," Timur Coskun, Manager of the Caspian Sea Resort told a press conference on the occasion. He said the center has 24 rooms and two world-class presidential suits, and can host up to 116 people per day who need to pay 210 manats (US$254) to spend a night in a standard room. Its facilities also include a spa, a swimming pool, several pubs, a restaurant, and conference halls. The center will offer its guests high quality, 24-hour services, including sea and pool lifeguarding. According to Mr Coskun, amongst the resort management`s plans are construction of a tennis court and purchase of watercrafts. (AzerTAc)
