EU ready to invest in Trans-Caspian gas pipeline
The EU is willing to fund a good part of the prospective Trans-Caspian gas pipeline (TCP), Platts reported with the reference to the EU Special Representative for Central Asia Pierre Morel.
Morel said at the CIS Oil and Gas Summit in Paris on Monday that the EU funding for this project would come only with the most extensive environmental safeguards.
He also stressed that while the EU takes no position on the legal status of the Caspian Sea, the TCP would lie in the undisputed territorial waters of Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan. Moreover, a precedent for such projects has already been set by agreements between Russia and Kazakhstan for offshore platforms in the northern Caspian.
European investment bank may finance Trans Caspian gas pipeline
The European financial institutions, especially the European Investment Bank may finance the Trans Caspian gas pipeline project, the Energy Department of the European Commission said.
"The European Financial Institutions, mainly the European Investment Bank, could potentially leverage support to infrastructure projects, such as Trans Caspian gas pipeline via loans and guaranties," a source in the European Commission told Trend on Wednesday.
The source added that the Trans-Caspian-Pipeline negotiations are underway.
Proposal for "Nabucco West" Scenario Submitted to Shah Deniz II Consortium
The Nabucco Consortium submitted a proposal to the Shah Deniz II Consortium for the construction of a "Nabucco West" pipeline, which would bring Caspian gas from the Bulgarian-Turkish border to Baumgarten and beyond.
Nabucco-West envisages the construction of 1,300 km of pipeline (Bulgaria: 412 km, Romania 469 km, Hungary 384 km, Austria 47 km). The pipeline, which can be further extended, is designed to transport gas from Azerbaijan.
SOCAR, Petrovyetnam sign agreement on onshore block of fields.
The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and Vietnamese Petrovyetnam signed an agreement on basic commercial principles and provisions of a contract for the rehabilitation, exploration, extraction and production sharing of the onshore block in Azerbaijan, the State Oil Company said on Friday.
The block includes the oil fields of Muradkhanli, Jafarli and Zardab.
Fitch affirms ratings of SOCAR
Fitch has affirmed State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic's (SOCAR) Long-term foreign currency IDR at 'BBB-' with a Stable Outlook. Short-term foreign currency IDR was affirmed at 'F3' while senior unsecured rating was affirmed at 'BBB-'.
Oil supplier to SOCAR refinery determined in Kyrgyzstan.
The crude oil supplier to the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan's (SOCAR) oil refinery in Kyrgyzstan was determined. "Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev visited Kazakhstan where he signed an agreement on the construction of a joint oil pipeline from Kazakhstan's Shimkent to Kyrgyzstan," president of the Kyrgyz Association of Oil Traders Zhumakadyr Akeneev said. He added that Kazakhstan will supply 2 million tons of oil per year. It is expected that this oil will be processed by SOCAR refinery in Kyrgyzstan, Akeneev mentioned. Akeneev said that Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan will jointly decide where to sell the oil products produced at the refinery. The oil refinery is scheduled to be commissioned in late 2013.
Baku-Supsa oil pipeline shut down for planned maintenance programme.
BP as operator of the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) field development project has shut down the Western Route Export Pipeline (WREP/Baku-Supsa) for a planned maintenance programme, the company told Trend on Wednesday.
Work will be carried out as part of ACG annual work programme.
The company said WREP will be shut down for about a month.
Production from all ACG platforms, as well as the SD platform, and export operations via BTC and SCP will continue as normal. Loadings at Ceyhan will continue as planned.
The Sangachal Terminal will continue to operate coordinating their day-to-day operations with the WREP maintenance activities.
Iran reveals details of a newfound oil field in Caspian Sea
The deposit called "Sardar Milli" is located 188 kilometers to the north of the coast of Gilan province and 250 kilometers north-west of the Neka port, Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi said. Qasemi said that a field with gas reserves amounting to 50 trillion cubic feet (more than 1.4 trillion cubic meters) and oil - 10 billion barrels was discovered in the Iranian sector of the Caspian Sea in December 2011. According to the received data, a new field is ten times larger than "Shah Deniz" field in Azerbaijan (reserves amounting to 1.2 trillion cubic meters), Qasemi said.
Kazakh KazMunaiGas, Russian LUKOIL sign memorandum of understanding
KazMunaiGas Chairman of the Board Lyazzat Kiinov and the president of LUKOIL Vahid Alakbarov have signed a memorandum of understanding and a general agreement on cooperation in the field of personnel management to study the aromatic hydrocarbon production technology in Astana today.
"A memorandum of understanding between KazMunaiGas and LUKOIL lays the foundation for cooperation between the companies in studying geological and geophysical data of free unlicensed onshore and offshore sites in Kazakhstan," KazMunaiGas said earlier.
Kazakh Oil and Gas Ministry to prevent shutdown of Pavlodar Petrochemical Plant
The Kazakh Oil and Gas Ministry is taking measures to prevent the shutdown of the Pavlodar refinery due to reduced oil supplies from Russia, an informed source in the enterprise told Trend on Friday.
"Reduction of Russian oil supplies oil to the Pavlodar Petrochemical Plant occurs indeed. But Ministry of Oil and Gas of Kazakhstan takes measures in this regard," the source said.
The source said the ministry has decided to redirect some Kazakh oil that is exported to the Pavlodar Petrochemical Plant.
"About 50-60 thousand tons will be redirected to the Pavlodar Petrochemical Plant," the source said.
Russia cut oil supplies to the Pavlodar Petrochemical Plant by half, a source in the industry told RIA Novosti previously. The plant is owned by KazMunaiGas.
Dragon Oil drills new oil well in Turkmen sector of Caspian Sea
Dragon Oil has announced the successful completion and initial testing of the Dzheitune (Lam) C/167 development well, the company said.
The Cheleken project has been implemented in Turkmenistan since the mid-1990s. The development is executed in the Jeytun and Jigalibek fields on the shelf of the Caspian Sea. The proved and probable remaining oil reserves on the contract area are about 300 million barrels of oil and more than 3 trillion cubic feet of gas.
Russia builds oil tanker for Turkmenistan
The oil tanker 'Etrek' built as an order for Turkmenistan's in the Nizhny Novgorod at the Red Sormovo Shipyard (Russian Federation), has arrived at the Turkmenbashi seaport, an official Turkmen source said on Friday.
The new tanker is designed to carry oil and related products and is equipped with two main engines which provide a high speed for this type of vessel. The tanker is equipped with twelve tanks isolated from each other which allow different types of fuel to be carried on one run. The 140 metre plus vessel has a load capacity (deadweight) of 7100 tons.
Tethys signs contract to develop oil field in southern Uzbekistan
British-Canadian Tethys Petroleum Ltd has signed a contract with the Uzbekneftegaz National Holding Company (NHC) to enhance oil recovery from the Chegara field in Kashkadarya region (south of Uzbekistan), the company's data, published during the International Exhibition of Oil & Gas Uzbekistan 2012
