Nabucco submits new conception to Shah Deniz Consortium
Nabucco Gas Pipeline International submitted a new conception of the project - Nabucco West to the Shah Deniz Consortium, an official representative of the Consortium told Trend. According to the new conception, Nabucco gas pipeline will be laid from the Turkish-Bulgarian border to the Austrian Baumgarten.
The original concept of Nabucco project envisages construction of the pipeline from the Georgian-Turkish and Iraqi-Turkish borders to the Austrian Baumgarten. The maximum capacity of the pipeline and the length were supposed to hit 31 billion cubic meters of gas per year and 3,900 kilometers respectively.
Shah Deniz no longer considers ITGI for Azerbaijani gas export to EU
Shah Deniz consortium does not consider ITGI (Interconnector Turkey-Greece-Italy) as the project to deliver Azerbaijani gas to the European markets, the consortium's spokesperson said.
The decision was made in accordance with the previously announced criteria for the export of gas from Azerbaijani Shah Deniz field to the European countries. Shah Deniz consortium is currently considering three possible export routes, whereas in early selection they were four (together with ITGI). Nabucco, South East Europe Pipeline (SEEP) and TAP projects are considered potential routes at present.
Shah Deniz consortium's decision on pipeline route to be made by mid 2013
The consortium of the Azerbaijani Shah Deniz gas condensate field development will make a decision on a preferable pipeline route to transport gas to Europe by mid-2013, Austrian OMV's CEO Gerhard Roiss. "The [Shah Deniz] consortium has told us that they will definitely decide by middle of 2013," Roiss said.
Dragon Oil plans to export Turkmen oil through Azerbaijan
Dragon Oil, operating in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea, plans to use a route through Azerbaijan to export crude oil in 2012, the company said.
"We secured a marketing route for the full volume of our entitlement production until the end of 2012 via Azerbaijan that has proven to be a reliable outlet for our crude oil to-date," the company said in a report.
Dragon Oil exported about 11.4 million barrels of oil produced in Turkmenistan's sector of the Caspian Sea in 2011, which is 6 percent more than in 2010, when 10.8 million barrels were sold.
The company transported 99 percent of its total exports through Azerbaijan in 2011, compared to 60 percent in 2010.
Turkemen president instructs to intensify oil and gas exploration in Caspian Sea
Speaking about long-term plans of oil industry during a special government meeting, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammadov focused on the necessity to increase intensity of the exploration and drilling operations with the development of the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea, the Turkmen government said.
Appealing to the heads of Turkmenneft State Concern and Turkmen Geology State Corporation President Berdimuhammadov "instructed to increase the pace of exploration work to discover new deposits of oil, natural gas and gas condensate in order to increase volume of industrial production of these natural resources".
The Turkmen leader also stressed the importance of the dynamic increase of oil and gas platforms in the zone and the widespread use of the last, advanced technologies in oil production. President Berdimuhammadov instructed Turkmennneft to accelerate the work on cardinal upgrading of oil pipeline systems, which have been operated for 40-45 years and do not meet modern requirements".
Ashgabat invites large companies to participate in the development of hydrocarbon resources in the Turkmen section of Caspian Sea. According to the estimations, there are 11 billion tons of oil and 5.5 trillion cubic meters of gas of projected resources, excluding the contracted blocks.
Galkynysh gas field development important for Turkmenistan
Addressing the newly appointed heads of the oil and gas sector at a special meeting, President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhammadov urged that work should continue on the development of major gas fields in the country. According to the report, 'President Berdimuhammadov also outlined continued work on the development of the largest gas field Galkynysh and other oil and gas fields as being the most important tasks facing the industry'.
The Turkmengas State Concern oversees the industrial development of Galkynysh. It signed service contracts worth $9.7 billion with Gulf Oil & Gas Fze, Petrofac International LLC (UAE), CNPC Chuanging Drilling Engineering Company (China), the LG International Corp and the Hyudai Engineering consortium (South Korea) in Dec.2009.
Turkmen president: Construction of TAPI gas pipeline should be accelerated
President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhammadov urged newly appointed heads of the country's oil and gas sector to accelerate implementation of Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project. According to the report, "stressing the need to intensify work to accelerate the construction of a transcontinental Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, President Berdimuhammadov emphasized the importance of the gas transporting pipeline, designed to not only ensure long-term supplies of the Turkmen gas to the largest country in South Asia, but also become a strong stimulus for further socio-economic development of the whole region". Ashgabat reported recently that an agreement in principle was reached with Pakistan on the cost of Turkmen gas and an agreement will be signed soon. The price of transit through the Afghan territory remains unresolved. At this stage, a principle of forming an international consortium is under discussion, and the project financing issue is being resolved.
Uzbekistan approves Ustyurt GCC financing scheme
President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov has approved a scheme to finance the construction of the Ustyurt Gas Chemical Complex on the Surgil gas field project worth $4.03 billion, the department of Fuel and Energy Complex under Cabinet of Ministers said. According to the document, the project will be implemented and backed by the founders Uz-Kor GasChemical LLC which are the National Holding Company (NHC) and a consortium of various Korean companies, as well as loans from international financial institutions and the Fund for Reconstruction and Development of Uzbekistan (FRDU).