Shah Deniz consortium partners, TAP reach agreement on project funding
The partners of Azerbaijani Shah Deniz gas field development and Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) reached an agreement to secure funding for the project, TAP said. According to the agreement these funds will contribute towards continued work in several important areas during the period running up to the final routing decision, expected in 2013. The agreement also includes an option for the Shah Deniz shareholders to take up to 50 percent equity in TAP.
SOCAR acquires 26 gas stations and oil storage in Ukraine
SOCAR Energy Ukraine (the managing company of SOCAR Ukraine Group companies) will acquire 26 filling stations and oil storage Hatikva Estate, which owns part of the business assets of the Kalina, SOCAR Energy Ukraine said. "One of the forms of the development of Ukrainian division of SOCAR as well as other participants in the market of oil products in Ukraine, is the acquisition of corporate assets, that is, absorption or joining other companies," the statement said. In this regard, as a result of the preparatory work SOCAR Energy Ukraine has obtained permission of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine for the purchase of more than 50 per cent stake in Hatikva Estate. As a result of the completion of this transaction 26 stations (in Odesa, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, Kharkiv regions) and the oil storage in Kharkov region will pass under the corporate control of SOCAR Ukraine. In the future, SOCAR Ukraine plans to rebrand these assets in accordance with corporate standards of SOCAR filling stations.
Japanese banks to allocate over $297 mln to build oil-deep processing plant in Kazakhstan
The Atyrau Oil Refinery in Kazakhstan has signed a loan agreement with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ to construct an oil-deep processing plant, KazMunaiGas said. In the accordance with the agreement, which was signed in Tokyo, the banks will allocate $297.5 million. The signing ceremony was attended by the heads of KazMunaiGas, the Atyrau Refinery and the Japanese banks.
Kazakhstan-China gas pipeline transports 30 billion cubic meters of transit gas
Construction and commissioning of the first and second lines of the first section of the Kazakhstan-China gas pipeline have been completed, the Kazakh Oil and Gas Ministry said. "Some 30 billion cubic meters of transit gas has been transported so far," the ministry said. Full completion and commissioning of the first section of the Kazakhstan-China gas pipeline taking into account construction of compressor stations are planned before the end of 2012 with a capacity of 30 billion cubic meters a year, and subsequent expansion to 40 billion cubic meters a year. In addition, the issue of construction of the third line of the first section of the Kazakhstan-China gas pipeline to increase capacity to 65 billion cubic meters a year is being worked out.
Turkmenistan studies possibility of liquefied gas export through Azerbaijan
The State Service of Maritime and River Transport of Turkmenistan is studying the possibility of transporting liquefied gas in special containers to the Baku Port, state news service Turkmen Dovlet Khabarlary (TDH) reported. At present, negotiations are underway, and the issue of supply of Turkmen liquefied gas to Europe via the Romanian port of Constanta (Black Sea region) is being studied, the report says. It is planned that liquefied gas will be transported in special containers to the Baku Port by vessels of Turkmen merchant fleet, and thence to the ports of Batumi or Poti (Georgia, Black Sea Region) via railway.