Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev met with Lukoil President Vagit Alekperov on January 20th. Alekperov disclosed that Lukoil has spent over $6 billion in the Central Asia state's oil production sector. According to the press office, this year Lukoil will launch a gas refining complex in Aktyubinskaya Region. Lukoil President also highly appraised the reliable protection for foreign investment provided in Kazakhstan as well as the development of the republic in last 20 years in general, attributing all these to the personal achievement of Nursultan Nazarbayev.
Meanwhile, triggered by increasing competition from China and Russia to access the resources of the region, the European Parliament has given its initial green light to a partnership agreement with gas-rich Turkmenistan, aimed at bringing the Central Asian country closer to the European Union, though the draft agreement has been criticized for risking legitimatizing a repressive regime. "If we don't open up the Southern Corridor then Turkmenistan will have no other option but to turn to the east. This will have very serious consequences for Europe," former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer warned. Both Europe and Turkmenistan are eager to reduce their reliance on Russia, which currently acts as middleman through Soviet-era gas pipeline networks. Turkmenistan has expressed willingness to supply Europe directly, rather than sell to Russia, which in turn pumps its own gas to Europe at a higher price. The Ashgabat government already sells gas to Iran and China and plans to further diversify its export markets.
Looking toward the east, National Energy Administration of China published the country's 2010 Energy Economy Review and 2011 Outlook on Jan. 28th. According to the report, China's energy demand will continue to increase in 2011, but in a lower speed in general. Noticeably, China's natural gas demand will rise 20 percent in 2011 to 130 billion cubic meters (cu m) and production will increase 16 percent to 110 billion cu m. China will focus on offshore oil and gas exploitation during the 12th Five-year Plan (2011-2015). China imported 17 billion cu m natural gas in 2010, 16% of the country's total consumption. CNPC estimated that the amount of natural gas imports in 2011 will surpass 30 billion cu m, but its high price is still a disadvantage, compared to coal, the country's biggest energy source.
Articles referred to in this post:
"Новые проекты планирует реализовать «Лукойл» в Казахстане"
(Lukoil plans to implement new projects in Kazakhstan)
http://www.newskaz.ru/economy/20110120/1066038.html
"European Parliament Moves Bloc A Step Closer To Turkmenistan"
http://www.rferl.org/content/eu_parliament_turkmenistan/2288449.html
"EU risks losing Central Asian energy to Eastern countries, says EU advisor"
http://centralasianewswire.com/EU-risks-losing-Central-Asian-energy-to-Easternnbspcountries-says-EU-advisor/viewstory.aspx?id=3087
"国家能源局发布2010能源经济形势回顾和2011展望"
(National Energy Administration of China published the 2010 Energy Economy Review and 2011 Outlook)
http://www.china5e.com/show.php?contentid=156196&page=2
"中石油预计2011年中国天然气需求1300亿方"
(CNPC predicts China's natural gas demand in 2011)
http://news.hexun.com/2011-01-20/126926413.html
It would be interesting to know how much profit Lukoil has reaped from this $6 bn dollar investment. One of the chief criticisms of the current Russian business model has been the lack of long-term capital investment. Are things different in Kazakhstan?
ReplyDeleteIn the Turkmen-EU partnership, are there any concerns over the lack of political freedoms in Turkmenistan?
It seems that the cooperation between Russia and Kazakhstan has been going smoothly at least in the last decade. The reliable investment environment provided by Kazakhstan is just what Alekperov praised in particular. As for Lukoil's involvement in Kazakhstan, there is a document below for reference. It is not up-dated but includes some projected data.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.lukoil.com/materials/doc/presentations/2003/LUKOIL_in_Kazakhstan.pdf
Regarding the second question, yes, there is actually serious concerns on the EU side over Turkmenistan's repressive regime. Turkmenistan for over 10 years is the only country in Central Asia not bound to any human rights or pro-democracy clauses in its relations with Brussels. To address this serious shortcoming, the European Parliament is asking for the inclusion in the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement of a mechanism to constantly review the democratization of Turkmenistan. This would be the first time that the EU assembly engages in such a monitoring exercise.