THE FINNISH ENRIMA WILL RENDER SERVICES ON THE PROJECT OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE STEAMING GAS INSTALLATION IN SUMGAYIT
BAKU.17.03.2004.MEDIA-PRESS: The JC "Azenerji" and Finnish Company Enprima have signed the agreement on rendering the consulting services on the project of the construction of the steaming gas installation (SGI) by a capacity of 400 - 500 MWt in Sumgayit. This company has won in the tender, where the Swedish Colenco and Finnish Electrowatt-Econo participated.
BAKU.17.03.2004.MEDIA-PRESS: Azerbaijan will become possibly a transit country for the Kazakhstan grain transportation. The Ambassador of Kazakhstan in Azerbaijan Mr Andar Shukutov has expressed this idea. By his words, there are a number of projects, which should bring economic profit to both Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. And an idea of the construction of a grain terminal in Baku is one of them.
BAKU.17.03.2004.MEDIA-PRESS: The American company from the Memphis (the State of Tennessee), "Saba" have received the contract on the construction of a new business and dwelling complex in Baku. The total cost of the contract for project and construction works makes $20 MM. $19.3 MM are covered by a credit guarantee opened by the State Export-Import Bank of the USA. The New-York Department of "Kommertsbank AG" allocates the guarantee loan.
BAKU.17.03.2004.MEDIA-PRESS: Quotas on sturgeons fishing and sturgeon caviar for 2004 have been agreed at the 21st sitting of the Commission on Biological Resources of the Caspian Sea held in Moscow.
BAKU.17.03.2004.MEDIA-PRESS: The direction of the Batumi port has announced the force majeure circumstances in connection with a stopping of railway communication through Adjaria. The force-majeure concerns the oil exportation from Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan in the first turn as oil rail deliveries were stopped in the evening of March 15.
BAKU.17.03.2004.MEDIA-PRESS: The Azerbaijan authorities are watching attentively for the development of the situation in Georgia, formed for the conflict of the central power and authorities of the Adjar autonomy. The Foreign Relations Department under the authorities of the President of Azerbaijan Mr. Novruz Mamedov has declared this in interview to ITAR-TASS.
BAKU.17.03.2004.MEDIA-PRESS: On the negotiations in Baku a half of articles of the Caspian Convention has been agreed. The Chief of the Russian delegation Mr. Victor Kalyuzni has said to journalists in the last day of the sitting of the Special Working Group on the Caspian issue.
BAKU.17.03.2004.MEDIA-PRESS: As well the issue of the construction of underwater pipelines will be included into the Convention of the Caspian Sea Status. The Special Envoy, the official of Kazakhstan on the Caspian Sea Mr. Ravil Cherdobayev has informed Media-Press about this. He has taken part in the Baku Sitting of the Special Working Group on the Caspian Status Determination.
BAKU.17.03.2004.MEDIA-PRESS: Astana may officially announce about joining to the Main Exporting Pipeline Baku - Tbilisi - Ceyhan (MEP BTC) already in the beginning of May, when the visit of the Prime-Minister of Kazakhstan Mr. Danial Akhmetov take place. As the Ambassador of Kazakhstan in Azerbaijan Mr. Andar Shukutov has informed Media-Press, it is not excepted that during the visit the intergovernmental agreement on the Kazakhstan oil transportation by BTC will be signed.
BAKU.17.03.2004.MEDIA-PRESS: "Having supplies of 10 bn tons of oil and 7 trln cubic meters of gas (forecasted ones - M. P), Kazakhstan searches for alternative routes of crude hydrocarbons transportation, - the Special Envoy, the official of Kazakhstan on the Caspian issues Mr. Ravil Cherfobayev has said. "We have the pipeline Tengiz - Novorossiisk (CTC), however this route is limited for the situation, which is forming in the Bosporus Strait", - the Kazakhstan diplomat has said.
BAKU.17.03.2004.MEDIA-PRESS: Iran increases export volumes of the natural gas as well as to the European countries. As the Deputy Minister of Oil Mr. Khadi Nijat Khoseiniyan has said, if before Iran produced gas only for inner consumption, now a great attention is paid for its export. By his words, negotiations on gas deliveries to Europe by the route Iran - Russia - Ukraine - Europe with Ukraine, Bulgaria and Romania have been conducted. Iran - Turkey - Romania - Bulgaria is the second route.
As the press service of the Company informs, Enprima should prepare the feasibility report of the project during one month and then start the preparation of the documentation for tender conduction for determination of the General contractor for the construction of the SGI.
As well as financing consultant of the project will be announced in the next days. The financing institutions of Germany, Japan and Switzerland have presented their offers in this tender.
We shall remind that else in 2002 two Steaming Electric Power Stations were closed in Sumgayit as non-profitable for worn equipment and large fuel consumption. Jus then a decision on construction of steaming gas block by a total capacity of 400 - 450 MWt has been accepted.
POSSIBLY AZERBAIJAN WILL BECOME A TRANSIT COUNTRY FOR THE KAZAKHSTAN GRAIN EXPORTATION
As Mr. Andar Shukutov has noted, Kazakhstan produces annually 15 - 16 MM tons of grain; moreover the proper demands make 10 MM tons. Azerbaijan grows 2.5 MM tons of grain at the most favorable circumstances, although its demands make 3 MM tons. So Azerbaijan needs in importation of up to 500 thou tons of grain. "We are able to export the Kazakhstan grain to Azerbaijan on a constant base and it will help to escape price revolutions on the bread market. A construction of a grain terminal in Baku should help to escape this", - the Ambassador has said and emphasized that the Kazakhstan side would be able to construct the terminal itself. And the terminal capacity may be accounted for both the inner demands of Azerbaijan and the further grain exportation to Georgia and Europe.
THE AMERICAN COMPANY WILL BUILD NEW BUSINESS AND DWELLING COMPLEX IN BAKU
By the information of the press service of Eximbank, the project provides construction of 7 floors building, where trade center as well offices and dwelling flats by a total area of 23500 sq. meters.
The President of "Saba" Mr. John Ostin has showed that this is the first step of the company on the Azerbaijan market, which is considered as perspective one by the Company.
Earlier "Saba" worked in Russia, Turkey and Turkmenistan with a support of Eximbank.
QUOTAS ON STURGEONS FISHING AND STURGEON CAVIAR HAVE BEEN AGREED
By the information of the Fishery Department of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan, as all members of the Commission have came out to Switzerland have went to Switzerland just at once after completion of the sitting for participation at the 50th Sitting of the UN Convention on the International Trade by Ecological Species (CITES), the detailed information on the results of the Moscow sitting will be presented after returning of the Azerbaijan delegation to Baku. The sitting of the CITES will complete on March 20.
As it has been noted in the Department, according to the procedure, quotas on sturgeons fishing and sturgeon caviar for 2004 agreed on 21 th sitting of the Commission on Marine Biological Resources of the Caspian Sea will be presented for approval by the CITES.
As well it has been noted that the quotas on sturgeons fishing in the Caspian Sea are determined by the new common method. Total monitoring of fish resources of the Caspian Sea have been conducted with using this method and a total quote on fishing have been determined on a base on these data and it will be distribitued among of all these countries.
Up to date each country has presented its accounts on food base, fish resource of its sector, reproduction capacities and common fish resources of the Caspian Sea, quotas on sturgeons fishing in whole and their determination for each country were determined on a base of this.
Five Caspian countries join to the Fish Biological Resources. They are: Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan; moreover Iran joined to the Commission in 2002 while the rest countries participated in its work since the foundation moment - in 1992. The Commission determines sturgeons fishing quotas and sturgeon caviar for each country five times a year.
For 2003 the quota on sturgeon fishing for Azerbaijan was established at a total of 130 tons (increase by 41.3% in comparison with 2002), and caviar for export - 9.1 tons (increase - 17.1%). The quota of other Caspian states for 2003 was as following: Kazakhstan: sturgeons fishing - 216 tons, caviar export - 23.18 tons; Russia - 429 tons of sturgeon; 30.3 tons of caviar; Turkmenistan - 56.25 tons of sturgeon, caviar export - 5.85 tons; Iran - 676.4 tons of sturgeons, caviar export - 78.8 tons.
THE PORT OF BATUMI HAS ANNOUNCED THE FORCE MAJEURE: OIL EXPORTERS ARE IN PANIC
Before the introduction of sanctions by Tbilisi, about 27 thou tons of oil an oil products were delivered daily to the Batumi Port by railway. Now these cargos probably will be redelivered to another Georgian port - Poti or Iran by the Caspian Sea.
The Georgian shore guard has ordered to all ships standing on roadstead to leave from anchorages and move to Poti. On March 15 the President of Georgia Mr M. Saakashvili has ordered to block Adjaria. As the Georgian sources report, only for yesterday the sea frontier guarders do not allow seven ships to follow to Batumi. All they were resend to Batumi.
Meanwhile the Minister of Economy of Georgia Mr. Irakli Rekhviashvili has declared to journalists that long continuation of economic blockade of Adjaria will damage not only the economy of the autonomy, but all the country. By the opinion of the Georgian experts, the economy blockade of Adjaria is not able to continue more than a month as in this case serious problems will appear in just Georgia.
As the Prime-Minister of Georgia Mr. Zurab Zvania has declared, the railway communication of Adjaria with the rest regions of Georgia is fully blocked as rails were demounted on its administrative frontier by order of authorities. If the conflict in Adjaria is prolonged, it may to bring to breaking of deliveries of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan oil through Georgia, the member of observer council of the company "The Georgian Railway" Mr. Georgii Khukhashvili. Transit from Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to the sea port Batumi makes 700-800 thou tons of oil and oil products monthly.
In distinction from the Kazakhstan and Turkmen oil exporters in the SOCAR of Azerbaijan are not very troubled by this situation. As the Vice-President of the SOCAR Mr. Khosbakht Yusif-zade has said, the situation in Adjaria will not affect on the Azerbaijan oil transit through the ports of Georgia.
"We deliver 80% of our oil to the Georgian port Poti and 20% to Batumi. If some problems appear we shall redeliver these 20% to Poti", - Mr. Kh. Yusifzade has said.
As well he has noted that the situation in Adjaria does not causes fears in the SOCAR concerning to the construction of the oil pipeline Baku - Tbilisi - Ceyhan. "The created situation existing having been existing for only two days cannot cause our troubles", - Mr. Kh. Yusifzade has said.
The Azerbaijan Railway has not introduced any limits on oil and oil products transit from Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan through Baku to Poti and Batumi for events in Georgia. The Chief of the Traffic Service of the Azerbaian Railway Mr. Iskender Kerimov has said about this.
By his words, on March 16 in the first half of day on the frontier station Beyuk-kesik on the West of Azerbaijan the Georgian railway received 14 trains shipped by oil and oil products, as usually. Mr. Kerimov has noted especially that the oil-bulk trains towards Georgia are formed in Baku daily depending on oil volumes and oil products delivered on tankers from the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea and as they are presented to freight senders.
By the words of Deputy Minister of Transport of Azerbaijan Mr. Musa Panakhov, for the present there are not difficulties in transportation of oil and oil products to Georgia including transit ones. At the same time he has noted that there are "opportunities for reception of subsidiary oil-bulk trains in a case of sharpening of the situation around Adjaria".
Nevertheless, as it has become known, the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan has temporarily stopped the kerosene deliveries to Batumi in connection with the last events in Georgia. The Deputy Chief of The Marketing and Economic Operations Office of the SOCAR Mr. Mukhtar Babayev has said.
By his words, the deliveries have been stopped after appeal of the French "Total", which had purchased the next party of kerosene from the SOCAR and intended to deliver it from the Batum port, which is standing idle now. "There is else one circumstance, which has forced us to make this step, - it is the delay of 6 thou tons of kerosene on the Georgian Railway, delivered earlier to Batumi from Baku", - Mr. Babayev has said.
As to the diesel fuel exportation, there are not problems on it. It as before is delivered by railway for shipment in Poti, the Deputy Chief of the Office of the SOCAR has said.
Monthly the SOCAR delivers about 10 - 15 thou tons of kerosene and up to 100 thou tons of diesel fuel. The pipeline Baku - Novorossiisk and Baku - Supsa exports 8.7 MM tons of the Azerbaijan oil annually.
In average the month volumes of the transit oil and oil products from Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan delivered through Baku by transit to Poti and Batumi make up to 500 thou tons. The reduction of their flow since 2004 towards the Black Sea ports of Georgia is not associated with events around Adjaria, but the intension of the railway employees of the neighbor country to increase the transit tariffs for oil and oil products transportation, the Ministry of Transport of Azerbaijan informs.
BAKU IS WATCHING ATTENTIVELY FOR THE SITUATION IN GEORGIA AND HOPES ON IT PEACEFUL ADJUSTMENT
"Our single will is that this conflict, which is the sovereign problem of Georgia completes in peaceful way, way of negotiations", - he has said.
Officials of the company "BP-Azerbaijan", which is the operator of the operating oil pipeline Baku - Supsa and constructed oil pipeline Baku - Tbilisi - Ceyhan (BTC) hope also on peaceful adjustment of the situation in the neighbor country. At the same time they have emphasized, "they do not see a danger for oil ways, which pass through Adjaria". "All pipes necessary for the construction of the Georgian area of BTC, have been exported already from Batumi", - the Company's press service Chief Mrs. Tamam Bayatli has said.
At the same time she has noted that pipes for of the Georgian piece of the South Caucasus gas pipeline Baku - Tbilisi - Erzurum are still being kept in Batumi. Approximately its construction will begin in the end of 2004 after the completion of the construction of BTC.
ON THE NEGOTIATIONS IN BAKU A HALF OF 22 ARTICLES OF THE CASPIAN CONVENTION HAS BEEN AGREED - THE CHIEF OF THE RUSSIAN DELEGATION MR. VICTOR KALYUZNI HAS DECLARED
"11 articles of 22 one of the Conventions have been agreed entirely", Mr. Kalyuzni has said. "There are many brackets as before in the remained articles, and the delegations take time-out for agreement positions with their management", - Mr. Kalyuzni has said.
As RIA "Novosti" has been informed from the authorized sources, today a possibility of laying the oil and gas pipelines through the Caspian Sea bottom was discussed. The Russian side offered to realize these projects on a base of consensus, but not in unilateral or bilateral ways.
Russia and Iran supported the offer and thus the voting completed no on behalf of the Russian side - two against three, the source has informed.
Meanwhile, Mr. Victor Kalyuzni has again called erroneous "the idea that a chief goal of the Caspian problems is sharing of the Caspian Sea".
By his words, the issue of the sharing of the Caspian Sea "certainly is vitally significant for newly formed states under an angle of energy developments". "However, and the social side of the Caspian problems including issues of ecology and biological resources saving is important", - he has said.
As well Mr. Kalyuzni has noted that safety aspects should be attended especially and threats associated with terrorism and illegal drugs business first of all.
THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE UNDERWATER PIPELINES BY THE CASPIAN BOTTOM WILL BE DISCUSSED WITHIN FRAMEWORKS OF THE PREPARED CONVENTION ON THE SEA STATUS
As the official of Kazakhstan thinks, the sides will agree on this issue, because "it is impossible to operate the fields without available relevant communications".
The Russian side does not share the optimism of other Caspian states on the construction of the oil pipeline by the Caspian bottom, the special representative of Russia on the Caspian problems the Deputy Foreign Minster of Rusia Mr. Victor Kalyuzni has said. "There is a probability that in result of non-predicted circumstances or negative appearance in this project the Caspian ecology will be damaged badly", - Mr. Kalyuzni has said. By his words, during the construction of the oil pipeline through the Caspian bottom the seismic activeness of the Caspian region should be taken into account.
Both the diplomats have meant first of all a possibility of construction of the oil pipeline Aktau - Baku by the Caspian bottom, which should be constructed in a case if the annual export of the Kazakhstan oil by the pipeline Baku - Tbilisi - Ceyhan will not exceed 20 MM tons. However, the first delivery of the Kazakhstan oil to BTC will take place expectedly no earlier than 2007. And in initial period Kazakhstan plans to export up to 7.5 MM tons of oil in total.
Developing his idea Mr. V. Kalyuzni has declared "it is impossible to risk by the unique reservoir for the present interests". At the same time he has noted that any project has a right to be realized. "For this it is necessary that all conditions of ecological, seismic and technical safety are taken into account and an agreement of all the Caspian states on realization of the project realization is received.
Mr. Kaluzni should be reminded that just Russia has not consulted with any Black Sea states and even requested their formal agreement when it was constructing the gas pipeline "Blue Stream" through the sea bottom. Although "Blue Stream" has more chances to damage the environment of the Black Sea: this gas pipeline was constructed on a depth of more than 2 km and is affected constantly by the aggressive sulfide hydrogen medium.
KAZAKHSTAN MAY JOIN TO THE PIPELINE BAKU - TBILISI - CEYHAN ON MAY ALREADY
At the same time the diplomat has determined more precisely that agreement will be signed only in the case if the working groups of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan will complete the agreeing of all issues up to this time. By the way, the next meeting of working groups will take place on April.
During the forthcoming negotiations the sides should complete the preparation of the project of the framework intergovernmental agreement on the transportation of the Kazakhstan oil on the MEP. The agreement should be signed between Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Georgia as the transit country.
Earlier it was supposed to complete the negotiations up to the end of 2003 for presenting the project of the agreement the consideration of the governments of two countries. After signing of this agreement transit ones would be signed between investors of the transport system Aktau - Baku and governments of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan would be signed
The creation of the system Aktau - Baku supposes the construction of the new terminal for keeping and transshipment of oil in Kurik (the port in 76 km to the south-east from Aktau) and as well the connection pipelines. The capacity of the system on the transshipment would make 20 MM tons of oil annually; up to 7.5 MM tons would be delivered on the first stage. The volume of investments would be determined after singning the intergovernmental agreement. For managing the system Aktau - Baku the separate company would be founded and four companies would invest it : the Italian Eni, French TotalFinalElf, American ConocoPhilips and Japanese Inpex, which take part in the project of the development of Kazakhstan field "Kashagan" and having 15% of sharing in the company BTC Co.
The length of the MEP makes 1767 km and 443 of them pass through the territory of Azerbaijan, 248 km - through the territory of Georgia, 1076 km - through the territory of Turkey. The capacity of the pipeline makes 50 MM tons of oil in a year.
The construction works started on April 2003 and will be completed in the fourth quarter of 2004. The Azerbaijan oil export from the port Ceyhan (Turkey) is planned by the second quarter 2005.
BP (30,1%), the SOCAR (25%), Unocal (8,9%), Statoil (8,71%), TPAO (6,53%), ENI (5%), Itochu (3,4%), ConocoPhillips (2,5%), INPEX (2,5%), TotalFinaElf (5%) and Amerada Hess (2,36%) are the shareholders of the project.
IN SEARCHES FOR NEW ROUTES OF HYDROCARBONS EXPORTATION KAZAKHSTAN BASES ON ECONOMIC PURPOSEFULNESS AND POLITICAL STABILITY
By his words, "in new searches for hydrocarbons exportation including gas, first of all we will take the economic purposefulness and political stability of a supposed transit region into account".
We shall remind that on the days the President of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev has declared about a possibility for Azerbaijan to become the transit country for the Kazakhstan gas exportation to the world markets.
The President has not excluded that the South Caucasus pipeline Baku - Tbilisi - Ceyhan, a construction of which will start in the end of this year and complete in 2006, will transport the Kazakhstan gas. "In negotiations held in Kazakhstan the preliminary agreement has been achieved", - Mr. Ilham Aliyev has said. On March 1 - 2 he was in Kazakhstan with the official visit, where he discussed isues of trade-economic cooperation between two countries including as well the oil and gas sector with the President of Kazakhstan Mr. Nursultan Nazarbayev.
"Taking into account that gas production volumes in Kazakhstan will make 80 bn cubic meters annually, there are all bases for saying that Azerbaijan will become a transit country from this point of view", - Mr. Ilham Aliyev has said and noted that this will increase a role of Azerbaijan in the region.
Now Baku and Astana complete the preparation of intergovernmental agreement on joining of Kazakhstan to the project of the oil pipeline Baku - Tbilisi - Ceyhan.
IRAN INCREASES EXPORT VOLUMES OF NATURAL GAS AS WELL AS TO THE EUROPEAN COUNTRIES
By the words of the Deputy Minister, in the next ten years Iran requires investments in oil field by a total of $45 bn and about $4 bn to the gas one.
By gas supplies Iran occupies the second place in the world after Russia. Now, by the words of Mr. Khoseiniyan, the negotiations on gas deliveries to Kuwait, Armenia and Azerbaijan will complete soon and in the next time relevant contracts will be signed with these countries. In 2004 Iran intends to deliver up to 9 bn cubic meters of gas to Turkey.
