Ilham Aliyev: Europe to become main market for Azerbaijani gas
The cooperation in energy sphere is one of the most important parts of relations between Azerbaijan and the EU, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said at the joint press conference in Brussels, with the president of European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, the EU official website reported.
"It is a win-win situation: Azerbaijan will find a predictable, regulated market in Europe, and Europe will get an alternative source of Caspian gas from Azerbaijan," Ilham Aliyev said.
"Hopefully the volume of Azerbaijani gas that is to be transported to Europe, will not be limited by the Shah Deniz 2 project, because we have more than 2 trillion cm of proven gas reserves. Europe will become main market for Azerbaijani gas."
SOCAR agrees to acquire Greek gas operator
The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) announced that it has reached a principal agreement with Hellenic Republic Assets Development Fund (HRADF/TAIPED) to acquire a 66 percent stake in Greece natural gas transmission system operator - DESFA.
Both SOCAR and HRADF advisory teams are currently working on the final technical matters of the deal, SOCAR's report said.
International consortium starts oil exploration in Georgian licence blocks
A Georgian-British international oil consortium is to start prospecting and exploration work in two licensed blocks in Georgia. The founders of the consortium are the Georgian Oil Company Norio registered in the Virgin Islands and British Georgia Oil & Gas Limited, Georgia Oil and Gas Triality Limited and Georgia Oil and Gas Norio Limited.
As the Oil and Gas Corporation of Georgia said that the agreement between the Georgian government and the consortium on the share distribution from the licensed blocks was signed in May 2013. The contract's bonus for both units amounts to $1 million. In the next four years, the consortium will undertake complex geophysical studies at each unit, including 2D and 3D system works. According to the agreement, the investor is obliged to invest $25 million in both areas.
Iranian official: No plan to sell crude oil to Russia
Iranian Oil Ministry spokesman Alireza Nikzad-Rahbar has said Iran has not been in talks with Russia for the sale of crude oil to its northern neighbour, ISNA reported.
Referring to some news which has been published by some media outlets, Nikzad-Rahbar said that there is basically no infrastructure for transferring crude oil from southern Iran to the Caspian Sea.
This week, the Mehr News Agency reported that Russia has recently expressed interest in importing crude oil from Iran.
Tehran and Moscow have been holding talks in this regard. Russian officials have proposed launching a pipeline to transfer oil from Iran's southern oilfields to the Caspian Sea and then carried by tankers to Russian oil terminals, according to the report.
Currently, the National Iranian Oil Company has started dredging operations around the Neka oil terminal in order to provide giant tankers with the possibility to berth at the terminal, the report said.
KazEnergy: Caspian region ranks second in terms of untapped hydrocarbon reserves
Caspian region ranks the second in the world by in terms of untapped oil and gas reserves, General Director of the KazEnergy Association Aset Magauov said at the 3rd International Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition entitled "The development of the Caspian shelf," which takes place in Atyrau.
The main theme of the on-going conference is "Cutting-edge technology for the successful development of offshore projects in the Caspian Sea."
According to the event's organizing committee, major oil and gas operators met, key industry experts and representatives of international organizations and government agencies of the Caspian countries gathered in the oil capital of Kazakhstan to discuss the latest developments in the strategic development of the oil and gas industry in the Caspian shelf.
Amount of recoverable reserves of Kazakhstan's KazMunaiGas announced
Kazakhstan's national oil company KazMunaiGas (KMG) has reserves of 823 million tons of oil and condensate, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Geology and Perspective Projects of NC KMG Kurmangazi Iskaziyev said, speaking at the third International Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition entitled 'The development of the Caspian shelf' in Atyrau.
"NC KazMunaiGas JSC has reserves of 823 million tons of oil and condensate which will enable oil production for the next 40 years," Iskaziyev said.
Kashagan commissioning term might be postponed to 2014
First oil from 'Kashagan' field is planned to be produced in 2014, Deputy Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Richard Jones said in Atyrau making a report within the scope of the 3rd International Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition 'The development of the Caspian shelf'.
"As far as I know, the production at 'Kashagan' will start in 2014, a few months after the tem expiration," Richard Jones said.
Meanwhile, an informed Kazakh oilman confirmed in an interview with Trend on the sidelines of the conference on the condition of anonymity that the date of the commissioning of 'Kashagan' field has been postponed from October 2013 to autumn 2014.
"Commissioning of the field has been postponed to April of the next year," the source said.
Turkmenistan's oil concern to purchase special installations from Germany
According to the published decision of the Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the state concern "Turkmenneft" will sign a number of contracts with the company Flottweg SE (Germany).
The topic of the contracts covers purchasing two sets of autonomous mobile facilities for processing the secondary raw oil kept in storehouses; activating and adjustment of the above mentioned facilities, carrying out design works, development of technical documentation, and also training specialists.
The document says that these works correspond to the oil and gas industry of Turkmenistan for the period till 2030.
LUKOIL company starts equipping fields in southern Uzbekistan with necessary facilities
"Lukoil Uzbekistan Operating Company" (operator of "LUKOIL" national company in Uzbekistan) has started providing "Gumbulak" and "Adamtash" gas fields with necessary facilities, as well as increasing the production in the Dzharkuduk-Yangi Kyzylcha field on the "Southwestern Hissar" block (Kashkadarya region, south of Uzbekistan), the company said.
According to the report, the major construction projects include a gas treatment unit with a capacity of up to 4.5 billion cubic meters of gas a year, a supporting base with an area of 15 hectares with a logistics warehouse, the fuel storage, utilities and a transformer substation.
Moreover, it is planned to drill more than 40 extractive wells, of which 10 have been already drilled, to build the external power supply lines, the raw materials collection system, tank gas pipeline at the fields.