ON THE NEXT WEEKTHE PRIME-MINISTER OF AZERBAIJAN WILL ARRIVE IN TURKEY WITH THE WORKING VISIT
By the words of the Minister, the visit is carried out by the invitation of the Turkish side. "However, the present status of the Premier does not allow to carry out the official visit, and Mr. I. Aliyev has decided to visit Turkey with the working visit", - Mr. V. Guliyev has said. In connection with the participation in the President elections Mr. I. Aliyev has stopped temporarily execution of his duties of the Premier. As it is known, in accordance with the Azerbaijan laws, the Premier, who participates in the President Elections, should stop his activity for the period of the Elections.
Mr. V. Guliyev has disproved the information of several local mass-media about that as if the visit of Mr. I. Aliyev is connected with the intension of the Premier to receive the assistance of Ankara in the Elections. "Mr. Ilham Aliyev and other candidates receive the greatest support of the Azerbaijan people. No foreign country, even such closest one as Turkey would not be able to take the place of the people of Azerbaijan", - the Foreign Minister has emphasized.
THE PREMIER OF AZERBAIJAN MR. ILHAM ALIYEV WILL HEAD THE DELEGATION OF HIS COUNTRY AT THE SUMMIT MEETING OF THE CIS IN YALTA AND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE UN IN NEW-YORK
By his words, the Premier of Azerbaijan should make else one working trip - to New-York on September 22 - 23 to the General Assembly of the UN, where his speech is expected.
In absence of Mr. Geydar Aliyev, who is treated in the clinics of the American town Cleveland, the Premier, who is the second person in the state hierarchy according to the Constitution, really executes duties of the President.
THE CHIEF OF "KAZMUNAYGAZ": A SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS HAS BEEN ACHIEVED ON NEGOTIATIONS IN BAKU ON JOINING OF KAZAKHSTAN TO THE PIPELINE BTC, THE OFFICIALS OF ASTANA AND BAKU CONFIRM.
As Media-Press informs, M. Kabildin has noted that the protocol signed in accordance with results of the meeting confirms achievement of agreement on preparation of the unite intergovernmental agreement on a base of versions worked out by the SOCAR and "KazMunayGaz".
By his words, there are not significant differences between the agreement versions of the boths sides. The sides are ready for creations of favourable conditions for investments attraction and guaranteeing their safety. The main difference is in that the Azerbaijan version has been worked out with account of further its ratification in the Parliament. Contracts signed by the Government and oil companies are not ratified by the Parliament in Kazakhstan, as the Government secures a safety of investments. However, as Mr. Kabildin has noted, if there are grounds for ratifying the intergovernmental agreement and other documents on foundation of the system Aktau - Baku - Ceyhan by the Kazakhstan Parliament, this will be done.
There is else one difference in approaches of the Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan sides: Astana opposes to providing favourable taxes for investors of the project Aktau - Baku. "The potential investors of the project already work in Kazakhstan and do not express their dissatisfaction for the tax regime. If we provide favours for investors of this project, companies sharing in other projects would be able to request them for themselves. The tax favours increase profits of companies and at the same time reduce incomes of the state, so we base on interests of Kazakhstan in this issue", - Mr. Kabildin has said.
The Director of "KazMunayGaz" has informed that created special working group with participation of experts from the SOCAR and "KazMunayGaz" should agree the text of the intergovernmental agreement up to October 25, when a meeting of chiefs of both the companies will take place and it is planned to parafy this document at it and give to governments of both countries for approval.
The separate company for managing the oil and transport system Aktau-Baku will be created, and the Italian ENI, the French Total S. A. (former TotalFinalElf, the American ConocoPhilips and Japanese Inpex, which participates in the development of the Kazakhstan field "Kashagan" and having 15% of sharing in the company BTC Co. (Baku - Tbilisi - Ceyhan). With this, Mr. K. Kabildin has noted, suggestions on joining to BTC from else 2 - 3 foreign oil companies, operating in Kazakhstan have been received.
He has noted that after signing the intergovernmental agreement between investors of the system Aktau - Baku and governments of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan the transit agreements will be signed. For creation the system Aktau - Baku it is supposed to build new terminal in Kurik (the port at a distance of 76 km to the South-East from Aktau) for storing and transhipment of oil, as well connective pipelines. The transhipment system capacity will make 20 MM tons per a year, up to 7.5 MM per a year will be transported in the first stage. The investments volume will be determined after signing of the intergovernmental agreement. The new system will be constructed by the end of 2006, when the first oil from the field "Kashagan" will be produced.
The officials in Baku estimated optimistically enough possibility of joining of Kazakhstan to BTC. The Prime-Minister of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev has emphasized during his meeting with the delegation of "KazMunayGaz" has emphasized the fact that deliveries of the Kazakhstan oil to the international market by means of the Pipeline BTC are important not only for oil companies, but the both countries - Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, the independent TV company Lider has informed. An he believes that negotiations on joining of Kazakhstan to this project started still in 1992 will complete successfully.
The Vice-President of "KazMunayGaz" Mr. Timur Kulibayev has supported this idea and noted that negotiations on probable pumping of the Kazakhstan oil by BTC were conducted in accordance with the instructions received from his Government and significant progress has been registered in these negotiations.
THE EDRB AND IFC SUPPOSE TO ALLOCATE FROM $400 TO $600 MM FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PIPELINE BAKU - TBILISI - CEYHAN
By the information of Media-Press, Mrs. Phillips has noted that just directly the ERDB and the IFC will allocate by $100 - 150 MM from own funds and it is supposed to attract the rest part of the mentioned total in a way of syndicated credits. The credits will be allocated for a term of 12 years. However, Ms. Sh. Philips refused to call the rates for credits, making a reference to the commercial mystery.
As Media-Press has informed, while this problem is solved, the International Pipeline Consortium BTC Co. (Baku - Tbilisi - Ceyhan) will require $700 - 800 MM. The share of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan will make about $200 MM. A number of companies joining in BTC Co already allocated means to the SOCAR for financing its share in the pipeline construction project.
By the end of June 30% of finance means of the companies-members of the Consortium BTC.Co allocated for the construction of BTC were exhausted. For the present all the project participants continue to spend their own means in the realization of the project.
THE ERDB AND IFC HAS CONDUCTED PUBLIC DISCUSSIONS IN BAKU ON THE PROJECT OF THE PIPELINE BAKU - TBILISI - CEYHAN CONSTRUCTION
By the words of Mrs. Sh. Philips, the ERDB and IFC pay a great importance not only to social and economic aspects of the project, but its ecological safety. There is one of significant advantages of the project that its realization will promote to reduction of petroleum volumes, which are transported through the Bosphorus. And this in its turn will not allow to deepen still complex ecological situation in the Strait.
Mrs. Sh. Philips has informed that officials of the ERDB and IFC have conducted an opinion poll amongst 800 citizens of Azerbaijan on their relations to the realization of the BTC construction project. The results of the opinion poll will be thoroughly studied and published.
The public discussions participants, numbering about 200 persons, were interested by such problecs as securing the ecological safety of the projec, financing BTC construction and ecpecially whether the strict ecological requirements of the IFC and the ERDB bring to growth in cost of the project. In their turn, the officials of the ERDB and IFC noted that the experience of similar projects has been taken into account in studying the ecological safety of BTC.
The Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan Mr. Guseyn Bagirov has informed during discussions that the pipeline constructions ecological impact assessment was worked out jointly with experts of the Ministry and company BP. During preparation of this document, the Ministry made 44 notes, which were accounted by ecologist of BP. Now, by his words, monitoring the execution of all established requirements should be developed. It is carried out by special structures including officials of BP as well as the Ministry of Nature. Besides, the Ministry cooperates actively with different NGO in this issue and conducts regular meetings with them.
As Media-Press has been informed earlier, totally the IFC and ERDB will conduct six relevant meetings. Two will take place in Turkey, one as it has been mentioned above will be held in Erzurum on August 26 and the second one in Adan on August 28, on September 1 and 4 in the Azerbaijan cities Gyanja and Baku and on September 8 and 11 in the Georgian cities Borjomy and Tbilisi. In 120 days by the results of the discussions these international finance institutes will decide to allocate $150 MM credit by each of them for the construction of the pipeline BTC and approximately else by $100 MM for financing the "Phase-1" of the development of the fields "Azeri - Chiraq - Guneshli".
We shall remind that the pipeline consortium BTC Co. (Baku - Tbilisi - Ceyhan) had made available the necessary documentation on the project BTC, in particular, on the environmental impact assessment and social aspects of the pipeline construction for the consideration of the IFC and ERDB. These documents reflect, as damages to environment and social medium would be minimized during the construction and operation of the MEP. All documentation numbers 11 thou pages.This is the largest document of similar kind, which was ever presented to the finance institutes for the consideration.
While a question on credit allocation is solved, the international pipeline consortium would require $700 - 800 MM. A share of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan will make about $200 MM. A number of the companies of the consortium BTC Co. have already decided to allocate means to the SOCAR for financing its share in the project of the pipeline construction.
THE ERDB PLANS TO ALLOCATE A CREDIT OF $200 MM FOR FINANCING OF 10% OF THE S0CAR SHARE IN THE PROJECT OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE FIELD "SHAKH-DENIZ"
Mrs Sh. Philipps has declared in Baku that the SOCAR made available ful bag of ecological documents on the project "Shakh-Deniz" for the EDRB and soon it will be available for public discussions. Just the credit approval will supposedly take place in 2004.
We shall note that expenses for realization of the first stage of the project "Shakh-Deniz" will make $750 - 800 MM in this year. As a whole the "Stage - 1" includes installing the platform TPG500 for drilling 15 bore holes at sea depths up to 105 km, underwater preparation of the field with 5 wells, which will be drilled later already at a depth of up to 300 m, construction of two underwater pipelines with a length of 100 km of each one (26 inches gas pipeline and 12 inches one for gas condensate) from the platform TPG 500 to the Sangachal terminal, as well as the construction of the South Caucasus Pipeline - from Azerbaijan to the Turkish frontier through Georgia. A total cost of the project makes $3.2 bn.
The estimate supplies of the field "Shakh-Deniz" make 1trln cubic meters of gas. The shareholders of the project are following companies: BP (25.5%), the Norwegian Statoil (25.5%), the SOCAR (10%), the French-Belgium TotalFinalElf - 10%, the Russian "LUKoil"- 10%, the Iranian OIEC - 10% and the Turkish TPAO - 9%.
IN 2004 THE VOLUME OF OIL PUMPING BY THE SOCAR BY THE ROUTE BAKU - NOVOROSSIYSK WILL NOT CHANGE - 2.5 MM TONS
In accordance with the intergovernmental agreement between Russia and Azerbaijan on the oil export, signed on January 1999, it is prolonged automatically every year, if one of the sides does not inform the second one about its intension to cancel the agreement. In every five years the sides may to make changes into the agreement as arranged between them.
The pipeline Baku - Novorossiysk was put into into operation on October 25 1997, annually the SOCAR exports 2.5 MM tons of oil by it.
THE UNDERWATER GAS PIPELINE BAKHAR-NEFT DASHLARI WILL BE READY ON OCTOBER
The gas pipeline will connect two main Caspian gas compressing stations of the SOCAR on the fields Neft Dashlari and Bakhar, where gas is delivered from the main maritime fields of the SOCAR, as well as from the field Chirag, which is developed since 1994 by the Azerbaijan International Operating Company (AIOC). The total length of new gas pipeline makes 68 km, the capacity - 5.5 MM cubic meters of gas per a day. This construction will cost $32MM.
The underground line will allow to receive growing volume of casing-head gas from the field Chirag and also will provide deliveries and processing supplementary 1.8 cubic meters of gas per a year to 3 - 4 bn cubic meters of gas processed at the present time on the Azerbaijan Gas Processing Plant (AGPP).
In 2004 the SOCAR plans to increase the gas production in the shallow-water area of the field Guneshli in two times against the level of 2002 - up to 4 bn cubic meters per a year, what will allow to provide 77 - 78% of the total gas production of the SOCAR against the present rate, which is equal 42%.
In 2002 958.8 MM cubic meters of gas (by 7.7% more than in 2001), were produced on the field Chirag, in 2003 the growth in production of the casing-head gas is continued on this field. The Azerbaijan International Operating Company will freely deliver the casing-head gas to Azerbaijan.The proved supplies of the unit of the fields Azeri - Chirag - Guneshli make 278 MM tons of oil, the potential supplies - 370 MM tons. At the present time 137 thou bbl of oil are produced daily from the contract area and over 2.5 MM cubic meters of the casing-head gas.
SHARP DEBATES ON NEW SYSTEM OF QUOTATION OF THE PRODUCTION AND OIL EXPORTATION ARE EXPECTED IN THE SEPTEMBER SUMMIT MEETING OF THE OPEC
Since April all countries of the cartel excepting Venezuela reduced a production level, expecting that soon a great volume of oil will be delivered from Iraq; the Americans in accordance with their promises should restore the oil industry of the country. The initiative of Iran breaks this tendency and certainly will become a cause for sharp disputes at the forthcoming summit meeting of the OPEC, which will be held in the end of September. As some analysts regard, the behavior of Iran is explainable from different points of view.
Formally, Iran only keeps "the corridor rule", established more three years ago: if running 3 weeks the weighted mean prices for petroleum overcome ranges of 22 - 28 dollars per a bbl, the production volumes change automatically. Iran only "has restored the order".
Probably, the second, more hidden circumstance pressures on Iran. During several months Iran was affected interruptedly by the USA, which alluded that the destiny of Saddam Hussein Regime may be provided for Iran because for its nuclear plans. It is quite probably that Teheran could make the symbolic gesture for the USA and opened the petroleum valves, - reduction of prices is vitally necessary for the USA now, as the economic growth, which is outlined now, would be too uncertain without cheap petroleum. By the words, independently of real causes of Iran's behavior these actions only add disorder into the OPEC. Furthermore Nigeria and Lybia also insist on revising the quotas.
Meanwhile, sharp debates are not excepted during discussion of new order of quatation of production and export by the countries-members of the cartel. Supposedly, in future not only oil supplies, but productivity, inner consumption of countries, oil income per capita will be accounted for determinations quota for each country.
GERMANY WILL SUPPORT THE JOINING OF TURKEY TO THE EU
Since 1963, when Ankara concluded the treaty on associated membership with Brussels, all political parties, which formed the FRG government affirmed their wishes to join Turkey in the EU in the perspective, Mr. Gerkhard Shreder has reminded. He sharply criticized the "anti-Turkish hysteria", developed by the German opposition. "The Christian democrats add fuel to the flames of cheap polemics, which damages to the German authority", - the Chancellor has said.
THE PRESENTATION OF THE INTERNET-SITE DEVOTED TO FORTHCOMING PRESIDENT ELECTIONS IN AZERBAIJAN HAS BEEN HELD IN AZERBAIJAN
As creators of site note, the given internet-resource fully is independent and has no task to full ratings of candidates. The financing the project is carried out for means of the company Flexible Solution. Materials presented by elective staffs of candidates, their biographies, pre-election platforms as well as exclusive materials and interviews, prepared by political experts and reporters.
As well interactive texts are held within this site. It is planned that all candidates will be examined by these tests and they answers would help electors to determine the most suitable candidate for common outlook. Besides, daily new of different sources about pre-elective competition will be presented on the site. The Internet consumers will be able to discuss these news and other information in specially formed forum.
BY THE END OF SEPTEMBER THE STURGEON FISHERY PLANT WILL BE PUT INTO OPERATION
As the Minister of Ecology and Mineral Resources of Azerbaijan Mr. Guseyn Bagirov has declared, now completion works on mounting of the main equipment delivered by the German Company Ferrostaal are conducted on the plant.
The enterprise is designed for growing 15 MM sturgeon fries per a year. The fishery plant is built within frameworks of the project "The Urgent Ecological Investments", and the World Bank has allocated favouralble credit of $20 MM for its realization; $6 MM of them are for construction of the fishery plant.
THE FOUNDATION OF THE COMPANY "ITERA-GEORGIA" HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED IN TBILISI
The newly founded company will sell the natural gas in Georgia. The debt of Georgia to "Itera" for 1997 - 2002 makes about $100 MM.
A day before "Itera" stopped the gas delivery to Tbilisi. The main office of the company in Moscow has decided so for the gas distribution company "Tbilgaz" did not redeem the current dept by a total of $708 thou.
Since 1996 "Itera" is single supplier of gas to Georgia. Georgia has not own gas. Deliveries of the Russian and Turkmen natural gas are main sources of the gas supplying of the country; in 2002 the deliveries made 1.34 bn cubic meters. A share of the natural gas in the energetic balance of Georgian makes about 24%.
Earlier, the President of Georgia Mr. Eduard Shevarnadze has declared that welcomes a competition at gas market in the country. So, on July, 2003 Georgia signed the agreement on the strategic cooperation in the gas sphere for a term of 27 years with the Russian "Gazprom". At the present time negotiations with "Gazprom" conducted by the Government of Georgia for correlation of the final version of the agreement on a start of gas deliveries to Georgia still have not completed.
THIS YEAR IRAN WILL EARN $600 MM FROM THE GAS EXPORT
In the past year a part of gas in the energetic resources consumption exceeded 50% in the country. The policy of the gas consumption instead of other kinds of fuel continues and by the end of the third program of the economic development of the country it is planned to increase this rate up to 65%.
By the words of Mr. Mokhammed Melaki, by the present time about 95% of the population of 437 Iranian towns are supplied by gas. Since the second half of the current year all population of these towns will be able to consume this kind of fuel. From August 2002 up to Augus 2003 46 towns and more 300 settlements received gas and more 38 MM persons consume it at the present time.
THIS YEAR INCOMES OF THE SAUDI ARABIA FROM THE OIL SALES WILL MAKE ALMOST $68 BN
The Kingdom has planned to receive $61.4 bn in the current year on a base of prices $23.5 for a barrel, however the prices for "the black gold" reached a level of $25 for a barrel in 2003, it is noted in the document.
The increase of incomes will allow the Saudian Government to correlate the budget with the profitability of $3.5 bn instead of planned deficiency of $10.7 bn.
