Baku News

28.03.2008 - [Neftegaz.RU] - The Second Caspian Oil and Gas Trading and Transportation Conference will run on 23-25 April, 2008 in Baku, Azerbaijan, at the Park Hyatt Hotel. The Conference is organised by Confidence Energy and Azerbaijan State Oil Academy with the official support of the Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan Republic and SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic).

19 March 2008 - Day.Az - The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan has reached an agreement with the World Bank regarding raising a credit in the amount of $54,000,000 for cleaning the oil polluted lands of Absheron. The due announcement was made by the vice president of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan for Ecology Mukhtar Babayev. He said the talks with the WB mission ended last week and the bank's board is expected to approve allocation of a credit in the amount of $54,000,000 in June. He also announced that by the end of this year SOCAR plans to start construction of big cleaning facility of a capacity of 80,000 cubic meters of waste and industrial waters. The facility construction to be financed by SOCAR will be built in the Bibi-Eybat region.

19 March 2008 - Upstream Online - Tengizchevroil, the Chevron-led Kazakh oil venture, has again delayed first oil shipments via the Baku-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline due to differences over fees and other issues, an Azeri official said. "We haven't yet agreed on a wide range of issues, mostly commercial, despite Tengizchevroil's desire to start shipments from the beginning of 2008. We continue talks and still expect the transit to start this year," said an official from Azeri state oil company Socar. Tengizchevroil, struggling to agree with Russia on the expansion of its key pipeline export route, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, had hoped to start alternative exports via Baku in mid-2007. Tengizchevroil, which also includes US supermajor ExxonMobil, Kazakh state oil company KazMunaiGas, a BP unit and Russia's Lukoil, was not immediately available for comment, Reuters reported. The BTC pipeline is run by BP and pumps crude from large Azeri fields on the Caspian Sea to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. The pipeline can pump more than 1 million barrels per day. Tengizchevroil shipped about 120,000 bpd of crude by tankers via the Caspian Sea and Azerbaijan to world markets in the late 1990s. But it has re-routed all volumes to Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiisk after building a pipeline via Kazakhstan and Russia, known as the CPC. CPC wants to double capacity to accommodate rising output in Kazakhstan, but Moscow has been blocking the plan for years, asking the pipeline group to raise payment to the Russian government and participate in the expansion of other pipelines.

// Natiq Aliyev: "The route via Georgia and Turkey is the most real for transportation of energy sources from the Caspian region to Europe" Azerbaijan considers that the most real thing is to create a new energy route Azerbaijan Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey-Greece for supply of energy sources from the Caspian region.17 March 2008 - Today.Az - The due announcement was made by Azerbaijan's Minister of Industry and Energy Natik Aliyev at today's meeting with Greek Development MinisterChristos Folias, Interfax reports. "Azerbaijan has large gas reserves, as well as possibility of opening new gas fields. We consider that most real thing is to create a new energy route Azerbaijan Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey-Greece for supply of energy sources from the Caspian region", N.Aliyev said.

17 March 2008 - APA News - Natig Aliyev, Azerbaijani Minister of Industry and Energy, has today met with a delegation led by Christos Folias, Minister of Development of the Hellenic Republic. The meeting focused on the energy and economic issues, including deliver of the Caspian oil and natural gas to Europe, as well as Greece. Azeri minister said his country intends to contribute more to the energy security in Europe. “Azerbaijan produced 43.7 million tons of oil last year. Our plan to produce 52 million tons in total for 2008 is on target. The figure will be 65 million tons next year,” he added. Natig Aliyev also said that Azerbaijan has exported natural gas to Georgia and Turkey. Greek minister expressed his country’s interest in importation of natural gas from Azerbaijan. The two ministers also discussed a number of other issues of mutual concern. The meeting concluded with a final protocol. Christos Folias is scheduled to meet with the Prime Minister Artur Rasi-zadeh, Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, Economic Development Minister Heydar Babayev, Finance Minister Samir Sharifov and SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev. He is also expected to meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Christos Folias is accompanied by Secretary General of the Ministry of Mercantile Marine Yiannis Tzoanos, president of the National Council on Energy Strategy (SEES) Raphael Moisis, DEPA managing director Asimakis Papageorgiou, ational Centre for Renewable Energy (CRES) president Yannis Agapitidis, Hellenic Food Authority Officer Evangelos Lazos and other officials.

13 March 2008 - Prime-TASS - Russia's Foreign Ministry: "Azerbaijan's hydrocarbon reserves are large but not sufficient to ensure pumping of 20-30 billion cubic meters of gas per year by the Nabucco gas pipeline" "Nabucco project is possible but prospects of its filling with gas are unclear". The due announcement was made by Andrei Denisov, first deputy foreign minister of Russia. "Nabucco project is possible", he said "However, prospects of its filling with gas are unclear, while they must be guaranteed". "Such technical constructions should not be built at random", the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry said. "Three potential gas suppliers, including Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkmenistan, are considered for Nabucco", he went on "Azerbaijan's hydrocarbon reserves are large but not sufficient to ensure pumping of 20-30 billion cubic meters of gas per year by the Nabucco gas pipeline, while lower capacities are senseless". "Iran is the second after Russia for its gas reserves, which should however be explored and revealed and the due infrastructure must be created. This requires tens of billions of dollars", Denisov announced. "Nabucco is possible only in the future", he said in his interview to Vremya Novostey newspaper. "It is favorable for Turkmenistan to pump gas by existent routes". "Favorable conditions Russia will create for it as a transit country depends on us", Denisov noted "Gas reserves of Turkmenistan should be estimated considering the fact that the country has already undertaken responsibility to supply gas to its neighbor-countries".

11 March 2008 - Upstream OnLine - Azerbaijan is reluctant to start discussing expansion of the BP-led Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline until the UK supermajor proves the development is profitable for the country, a Socar official said today. Azeri state-run producer Socar said expansion of the BTC link could lead to changing owners' shares in the project after the investment for its building is compensated. "Azerbaijan has offered to expand the pipeline's capacity beyond 1 million barrels per day ... We should calculate if it is profitable for us," the official told Reuters. BP, which is using the pipeline to pump oil from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) development in the Caspian Sea to the Turkish Mediterranean port via Georgia, has said it hopes to expand the pipeline's capacity to 1.2 million bpd this year to accommodate raising output. It has said the pipeline, which opened in June 2006, could start pumping 1.6 million bpd within a few years. Under the agreement with BTC partners, Azerbaijan will become the pipeline's owner in 20 years, after the more than $4 billion investment into its building is repaid. BP holds 30.1% of BTC, while Socar holds 25%. Other stakeholder include US supermajors Chevron and ConocoPhillips, Norway's StatoilHydro, Italy's Eni and French giant Total. The BP-led ACG development is currently producing 770,000 bpd, with output is expected to hit its peak of 1 million bpd next year. The BTC is seen by BP as an alternative to the Baku-Novorossiisk pipeline that takes Azeri oil to Russia, from where it is sold on to Europe.

11 March 2008 - by Upstream OnLine - Azerbaijan will resume oil shipments via the BP-led Baku-Supsa pipeline by the end of June, a Socar official said today. "The Baku-Supsa pipeline will resume operations in the second quarter of 2008," Elshad Nasirov, vice-president of Azerbaijan's state-run player Socar told Reuters. BP, which used the 120,000 barrel-per-day pipeline to transport crude from the giant Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) development in the Caspian Sea, shut the route in October 2006 to repair the 150 kilometre section in Georgian territory. BP has said it would re-open the pipeline as soon as the work is completed, but has not given a precise timetable. The ACG fields' partners include ExxonMobil, Chevron, Devon Energy, Inpex, Itochu and TPAO, as well as Socar. The group is currently producing 770,000 bpd from ACG and expects output to hit its peak of 1 million bpd next year. Oil is currently exported mainly via the Tbilisi-Baku-Ceyhan pipeline.

11 March 2008 - Upstream OnLine - Azeribaijan's state-run oil producer Socar plans to raise between $300 million and $500 million through its debut Eurobond issue early next year, company vice-president Suleiman Gasymov said today. Gasymov told Reuters he expected US markets to be the main participants in the issue. He said Socar would be ready for the issue in the first quarter of next year after preparing its results to international standards for two years.

05 March 2008 - Vzglyad - There are differences regarding transportation of Azerbaijani gas by Nabucco project between Azerbaijan and Turkey. The due announcement was made by US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza by results of the meeting with Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov. M.Bryza stressed the necessity to achieve agreements between Baku and Ankara, "It is time to settle this issue", the US diplomat said and added that each side has its own arguments and it is difficult to reach an agreement". M.Bryza noted that commercial provisions of the agreement are implied, in particular, tariffs of transit. It should be reminded that Nabucoo project envisions gas transportation by Turkey-Bulgaria-Romania-Hungary-Austria route.

05 March 2008 - Day.Az - Rovnag Abdullayev, president of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan, received US deputy assistant secretary of state Matthew Bryza. Day.Az reports with reference to SOCAR's press service that the meeting participants discussed US-Azerbaijani relations in energy sector. The sides also exchanged views on prospects and role of Azerbaijan in boosting energy

03 March 2008 - Today.Az – Crude oil and oil products made up 87.79% of the overall export of Azerbaijan in January of 2006. The due information has been provided by Novosti-Azerbaijan with reference to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan. The share of crude oil in the overall export made up 67.74% and oil products 20-05%. In the said period, the share of crude oil and oil products in export has risen by 5,25% as compared to January of 2007. At the same time, the share of oil in the whole export has risen by 1.1% and oil products by 4.15%. Moreover, in January Azerbaijan exported aluminum and aluminum wares, fruits and vegetables, chemical products, metals, butter, drinks, cotton, as well as tobacco and tobacco wares. As for Azerbaijan's import in January, transport means and their components made up 35.06%, mechanical, electric and electric and technical facilities and spare parts made up 22.09%, foodstuffs 11.57%. The country also imported metals, medicines, timber and timber wares, as well as other products.