Turkmenistan created energy export supervisory board.
Turkmen President Gurbangulu Berdimuhammedov has approved the composition of the Supervisory Board for selling Turkmen oil and gas and chemical products to foreign countries. The document was signed "to further improve the sale of Turkmen oil and gas and chemical products to foreign countries through the commodity exchange, control over the sale of the oil and gas products, petrochemical and chemical products, as well as streamlining payment systems for sold products".
Dragon Oil extended contract with Socar Trading.
Dragon Oil (UAE), which has been an oil producer in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea since 1996, has extended its contract until December 31 2012 with a subdivision of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) - Socar Trading on sale of its share of oil production under FOB Aladja Jetty. Turkmen oil is transported through Baku and further via Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline. As is expected, oil prices within this contract extension will be determined from 10 to 13 per cent discount for Brent depending on the level of world oil prices. According to the company CEO Abdul Jaleel Al Khalifa, the export route through Baku is soundly reliable for this fundamental aspect of the business.
BP started planned maintenance program at Azerbaijani platforms.
BP (operator of the block of "Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli" offshore fields' development in Azerbaijan) stopped the operations at the "Eastern Azeri" platform within the planned maintenance program at three offshore platforms in the Caspian Sea.
In accordance with the plan, production at three platforms - Eastern Azeri, Western Azeri and Central Azeri will be suspended in a planned sequence to ensure effective maintenance.
During the operations in one of the platforms, other two platforms located on the Azeri field, will continue production.
Production from the other BP-operated production platforms - Chirag, Deepwater Gunashli (both part of the ACG development) and Shah Deniz, as well as export operations via South Caucasian Gas Pipeline (Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum) and Baku-Supsa oil pipeline will continue as normal.
The BTC pipeline and the Sangachal Terminal will continue to operate coordinating their day-to-day operations with continuing ACG and Shah Deniz production operations. Shipment at Ceyhan will also continue in accordance with a schedule.
Standard & Poor's assigned "BB" rating to SOCAR.
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that it had assigned its 'BB' long-term corporate credit rating to the 100% government-owned vertically integrated State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR). The outlook is positive. SOCAR already owns ratings of rating agencies Moody's and Fitch.
The rating on SOCAR reflects our opinion that there is an "extremely high" likelihood of timely and sufficient extraordinary support from its key owner, the Azerbaijani government (BB+/Positive/B).
This reflects potentially large investments, if projects to expand the country's oil production are approved, or if the company proceeds with other acquisitions. The positive outlook on SOCAR reflects the positive outlook on Azerbaijan and our expectation of possible improvement in SOCAR's stand-alone credit profile.
KazMunaiGas Exploration Production announced assets to be acquired.
KazMunaiGas Exploration Production plans to acquire assets in Russian, Iraqi, Middle Eastern, and Turkmenistan projects, the head of company's public relations department Michael Dorofeyev told Trend by telephone from London on Friday. The Director General of KazMunaiGas Exploration Production Askar Balzhanov said at a conference in Almaty that the company is considering the purchase of oil and gas assets in amount of $2-2.5 billion. "This figure does not include the share in Kashagan [the largest oil field in the Kazakh field of the Caspian Sea] or Karachaganak. But this figure includes the fields previously owned by MangistauMunaiGas," he said.
Turkmenistan commissioned export gas station.
Another gas compressor station (GCS) - "Dovletabad-2" with capacity of about 20 billion cubic meters of gas per year has been commissioned in one of the largest Turkmen gas fields in Dovletabad.
The facility has been constructed by ENEX Process Engineering LTD (Belgium). The total cost of the investment project implemented by the State Concern "Turkmengaz" is over 132 million euros.
Turkmenistan completed another project on gas processing.
The implementation of another investment project worth $52.35 million has been completed in Bagadja - one of the largest hydrocarbon fields in the Lebap region of Turkmenistan.
According to the report, the second phase of Bagadja gas processing plant has been commissioned, the installation of which is designed for processing of one billion cubic meters of natural gas, for output of 12,000 tons of liquefied gas and 18,000 tons of gas condensate per year.
The new production meets the parameters of international standards.
The processing capacity of the complex, built by order of State Concern "Turkmengaz" by Thermo Design Engineering LTD (Canada), is one billion cubic meters of raw material per year.
Liquefied natural gas from here will be exported through the terminal in the Seidi city, while gas condensate - to the Seidi oil refinery, where light oil products, which are in high demand on world markets, will be produced from it.
Turkmenistan commissioned bypass gas pipeline.
A ceremony of commissioning the second branch of the bypass gas pipeline connecting the Dovletabad field with "Deryalyk" gas compressor station was held in Dashoguz region of Turkmenistan. The new gas route has been laid in a short period in Zaunguz Karakum Desert from 435 kilometers to 381 kilometers of interstate energy main pipeline CAC (Central Asia-Center), via which fuel is supplied to the CIS countries.
The capacity of the pipeline with length of 61.1 km and a diameter of 1,420 millimeter is 80 million cubic meters of fuel per day. Thus, in joint operation of both branches of the Dovletabad-Deryalyk gas pipeline, their total capacity will reach 150 million cubic meters of gas per day.
This facility worth about $50 million and built by foreign company Petro Gaz LLP, is equipped with the most modern means of telemechanics, ensuring centralized automatic control.