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Каспинфо декабрь 2000 |
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Название: Материалы на английском - III Главные Пункты: * Экспортные маршруты нефти Атырау-Самара и Тенгиз-Новороссийск остаются приоритетными для Казахстана. * США поставили оборудование в Азербайджан для увеличения мощности компрессорных станций месторождения Нефтяные Камни. * Для того, чтобы завершить работы на нефтепроводе КТК в следующем году планируется истратить 600 млн. долларов. * В Казахстане образована Межведомственная комиссия по вопросам экспортных нефтегазопроводов. Цель ее деятельности <разработка консолидированной, сбалансированной и конкурентоспособной политики... по созданию надежной и экономически эффективной нефтегазотранспортной инфраструктуры, обеспечивающей экспорт нефти и газа из Казахстана">. * Очередная презентация спонсорской группы трубопровода Баку-Тбилиси-Джейхан состоялась в Париже; ее цель - привлечь новых спонсоров в группу. * Туркменистан подпишет соглашение с Японией на поставку технологии укладки трубопроводов, стоимость которой составляет 1.2 млрд. иен. * Азербайджанские специалисты выбирают место для установки буровой платформы на месторождении Шах-Дениз. * Краткое изложение проекта по защите каспийской белуги (полное - доступно на сайте http://www.caviaremptor.org) * На северном побережье Каспия вновь умирают тюлени. Причина их смерти до сих пор не установлена: среди погибших тюленей много молодых, здоровых особей; у многих животных обнаружены раны - похожие на пулевые. * Возможно, Азербайджан не сможет полностью профинансировать свою долю участия в проекте Баку-Джейхан. * И другие сообщения (06.12.2000) Полный Текст Материалы на английском - III МАТЕРИАЛЫ НА АНГЛИЙСКОМ ***** Atyrau-Samara and Caspian Pipeline System Remain Priorities for Kazakhstan ATYRAU (TCA). The Atyrau-Samara pipeline from western Kazakhstan to Russia, and the Caspian Pipeline System from the Tengiz deposit to Novorossiisk remain priority export routes for Kazakh oil, a source in KazTransOil told Interfax, commenting on a government resolution setting up an interdepartmental commission on issues regarding oil and gas export pipelines. The KazTransOil representative noted that Kazakhstan continues to be in favor of diversifying its export routes. The source also added that use in the future of other export routes will depend on the results of exploratory drilling in the Caspian, being carried out by Offshore Kazakhstan International Operating Company (OKIOC). The source noted that at the moment Kazakhstan supports the negotiation process with Azerbaijan to implement a project to transport oil from deposits in Western Kazakhstan through Baku and Tbilisi to the Turkish port of Ceyhan. "To pay for this project, which is estimated at $4 billion, it will be necessary to transport 45 million tones of oil per year along this route," he said, adding "it is planned that 20 million tonnes will be supplied by Azerbaijan and 25 million tonnes by Kazakhstan." Atyrau Oil Refinery has halted production of high-octane Ai-93 gasoline due to insufficient supplies of crude, a source at the company told Interfax. For the high-octane unit to function, the plant needs to refine not less than 185,000 tonnes of oil per month, company specialists said. However, in October the refinery received only 171,000 tonnes of oil. After September reserves, accumulated during a halt for repairs in summer, ran out production of A-93 gasoline stopped. A source at the refinery said that at the moment supply targets at the plant, confirmed by the government, are being met by Kazakhoil only. Kazakhoil owns 86% of Atyrau Refinery shares and supplied the refinery with 1.486 million tonnes of oil in January-October, 70,000 tonnes more than planned. Including reserves, the refinery processed 1.885 million tonnes of oil in the first 10 months of the year, which is about 46% of capacity. The source explained that the drop in capacity utilization came about due to the fact that the joint venture Tengizchevroil did not implement a government decision to supply 25,000 tonnes of oil to the plant per month. Tengizchevroil has not yet supplied one tone of oil to the refinery, as the council of partners of that company do not want to sell oil on the domestic market, where prices are significantly lower than world prices, the source said. However, this amount of oil would be sufficient to continue production of high-octane gasoline. At the moment the refinery is producing Ai-76 gasoline only. ***** SOCAR Increases Capacity At Gas-Compressor Station BAKU (Interfax), U.S. Solar Turbines has started to supply Azerbaijan with three units to expand capacity at a gas compressor station at the Neftyaniye Kamni deposit, Oil Production at Sea (a State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic subsidiary) General Director Rakhman Gurbanov told Interfax. Installation of the equipment will begin in two weeks, Gurbanov said. The units will be installed on a special platform, built as part of the project to expand the station. The platform is capable of holding nine units. The purchase and installation of the other six units is currently being considered by the Azerbaijani Cabinet of Ministers. It is planned to complete work on installing and launching the three units at the end of January - start of February 2001. This will increase the capacity of the gas compressor station from 5.8 million cubic meters of gas to 7.2 million cubic meters per day. The cost of the work is estimated at $15 million, which is being paid from SOCAR resources, Gurbanov said. The launch of the new units will allow SOCAR to take more gas from the Chirag-1 platform. At the moment Azerbaijan International Operating Company (AIOC - the operator of the Azeri-Chirag-Gyuneshli project) sends 1.5 million - 2 million cubic meters of gas per day to the station. Meanwhile, about 20% of the gas produced by AIOC is released into the atmosphere, as SOCAR does not have the capacity to handle it. ***** Kazakh Govt. To Sell 30% of Mangistaumunaigaz By Year-End KAZAKHSTAN (Interfax). A 30% state packet in Mangistaumunaigaz (MMG), which is developing deposits in west Kazakhstan, is practically ready for sale, Kazakh Finance Minister Eduard Utepov said. It is planned to sell the state MMG shares, which are estimated at $100 million, by the end of this year, he said. MMG "is largely ready" for the sale of the state shares "and there are very good proposals" to buy these shares, Utepov said. As reported earlier, the consortium 1DEY Limited is the consultant for the sale of the state shares. Utepov considers that at the moment there is no sense in selling the remaining small state stakes in oil companies in the republic under investment conditions. State stakes should be sold "for as much as possible," he stressed. Utepov noted that the state owns 25.12% of shares in Aktobemunaigaz, which is also estimated at not less than $100 million. As regards the remaining government oil assets, which are being managed by Kazakhoil and KazTransOil, these are included in a list of shares that will not be privatized over the next few years. The government has received a total of about 11 billion tenge from privatization this year, compared with planned revenue for the year of 22 billion tenge, Utepov said. To reach target is in necessary to sell about another 30 small state stakes. The value of these stakes fluctuates between several million to 1.5 billion tenge. Central Asia Petroleum Ltd. has owned 60% of Mangistaumunaigaz shares since May 1998. Meanwhile, a reliable source in the Kazakh government told Interfax that principle agreement has already been reached on the sale of the state's 30% in MMG to an Indonesian company. ***** Planned Spending KTK Project of About $600 Min Next Year KAZAKHSTAN (Interfax) It is planned to spend about $600 million next year to complete work on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (KTK) project, KTK General Director Victor Fedotov told Interfax. The budget for 2001 should be confirmed at a meeting of KTK shareholders on November 30, he said. An official ceremony was held in Novorossiisk Wednesday in connection with the welding of the last section of the linear part of the pipeline, which will connect the Tengiz oil deposit in west Kazakhstan with the Russian port of Novorossiisk. Spending on the project this year is going according to plan. The KTK budget for this year amounts to $1.33 billion. The total length of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium pipeline is 1,580 kilometers and it has a maximum capacity of 67 million tonnes of oil per annum. The first stage of the pipeline, with a capacity of 28.2 million tonnes per annum should be finished by mid-2001. The cost of the first section of the pipeline is estimated at $2.4 billion, and by 2015 investment should amount to $4.2 billion. Russia has 24% participation in Caspian Pipeline Consortium, Kazakhstan -19%, Oman - 7%, and another 50% of the consortium is divided between Chevron Caspian Pipeline Consortium Co. (15%), Mobil Caspian Pipeline Co. (7.5%), Oryx Caspian Pipeline L.L.C. (1.75%), Russian-U.S. joint venture LUKArco B.V. (12.5%), Russian-British joint venture Rosneft-Shell Caspian Ventures Ltd. (7.5%), Italian Agip International (N.A.) N.V. (2%), British BG Over-seas Holdings Ltd. (2%) and Kazakhstan Pipeline Ventures L.L.C. (1.75%). ***** Kazakhstan Sets Up Interdepartmental Pipeline Commission ASTANA (Interfax). Kazakhstan has set up an interdepartmental commission on issues connected with oil and gas export pipelines, headed by Kazakh Prime Minister Kasymzhomart Tokayev. According to the government resolution on the setting up of this body, the commission is begin set up "to develop a consolidated, balanced and competitive Kazakh policy for the creation of an reliable and economically effective oil and gas transport infrastructure, guaranteeing exports of oil and gas from Kazakhstan." The commission has also been charged with selecting "priority projects to construct new export pipelines in the period until the start of commercial production in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea." In line with the resolution on the interdepartmental commission, its main task is to form proposals on the creation of a general development plan for oil and gas export pipelines; defining priority projects for the construction of oil and gas infrastructure, taking Kazakhstan's strategic interests into consideration, etc,. BAKU-TBILISI-CEYHAN PIPELINE SPONSOR GROUP TO BE HELD IN PARIS BAKU (Interfax). One more presentation by the sponsor group for implementing the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline project is to be held in Paris on November 29, Valekh Aleskerov, the head of the Foreign Investment Department of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), said. He said that the goal of the presentation is to draw new foreign investors to the sponsor group. Preference will be given to companies already implementing projects in the Caspian Sea, he said. "I think that 15-17 companies, among them the French TotalFinaElf, the American Conoco and the Kazakh Kazakhoil, will take part in the Paris presentation," Aleskerov said. JAPANESE ITOCHU TO SUPPLY 1.2 BILLION YEN IN PIPE TECHNOLOGY TO TURKMENISTAN ASHGABAT (Interfax). Turkmen state concern Neftegazstroi is to sign a contract with Japanese Itochu to supply Comatsu pipe - laying technology, worth 1,200,848,000 yen, for the republic's oil and gas industry, a source in the Turkmenistan! Presidential administration told Interfax. According to a resolution from Turkmenistan! President Saparmurad Niyazov, 85% of the cost of the contract will be covered by a credit from the supplier offered for five years and 15% will come from the State Fund for the Development of the Turkmenistani Oil and Gas Industry and Mineral Resources. The State Fund for the Development of the Turkmenistan! Oil and Gas Industry and Mineral Resources has been requested to sign a credit agreement with the republic's Vnesheconombank for 85% of the cost of the contract. Vnesheconombank will open a letter of credit for this amount in favor of Itochu Corporation. AZERBAIJANI SPECIALISTS SELECT LOCATION FOR SHAH-DENIZ RIG BAKU (Interfax). Specialists from the Complex Marine Geological Exploration Department, a division of SOCAR, the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic, and the Azerbaijani-Dutch AzeriFugro joint venture have started to take samples from the seabed where the Shah-Deniz oil field is located. AeriFugro told Interfax that the results would tell BP, the Shah-Deniz project operator, where it should locate a stationary oil rig. The samples were taken during geotechnical studies at the area, which ended last month. A total of 17 shallow holes were drilled. Newspaper, "The Times of Central Asia" November 30, 2000 ***** Dear Caspian Environmental NGOs: The campaign to protect beluga sturgeon through a ban on US trade in caviar was begun today. Attached is a summary of the project. The full report and additional information can be found on the website: http://www.caviaremptor.org To those of you who provided comments to us last month, thank you very much for your support. We are looking forward to working together to protect the Caspian sturgeon. Sincerely, Megan Delany Research Associate Natural Resources Defense Council 40 W. 20th Street New York, NY 10011 212-727-4445 mdelany@nrdc.org Executive Summary Caviar. The very word evokes glamorous lifestyles, exotic travel and glittering festivities. Yet the worldis source of this luxury item, the sturgeon, is in grave danger. Sturgeon have survived since the days the dinosaurs roamed the Earth. The question now is whether these iliving fossilsi can survive the relentless fishing pressure, pollution and habitat destruction that have brought many species of sturgeon to the brink of extinction. Today, the 27 species of sturgeon and their close relatives, paddlefish, are in sharp decline, and those living in the Caspian Sea, the cradle of world caviar production, are in crisis. Sturgeon are indeed remarkable fish. Clad in bony plates and equipped with broad snouts, some species of sturgeon live to be more than 100 years old and can grow up to 2,500 pounds and 15 feet-long. Like humans, many sturgeon species reproduce relatively late in life; some do not reach sexual maturity until the ages of 15 to 25. A single sturgeon can produce hundreds of pounds of roe, though the very largest fish are extremely rare today, following decades of overfishing. Sturgeon live in rivers, coastal marine waters and lakes in the Northern Hemisphere, and feed on bottom dwelling organisms such as worms, mollusks, small fish, shrimp and insect larvae. The focus of this report is the major commercial sturgeon species of the Caspian Sea. These species supply 90% of the world's caviar, yet their populations are in need of immediate, global conservation action. Sturgeon face five major problems: Overharvesting: Sturgeon are the principal source of one of the worldis most expensive and sought-after luxury goods n caviar. The fish eggs, or roe, are collected from female sturgeon after they have been caught and killed. The global caviar market has placed a premium on sturgeon, prompting overfishing and illegal fishing, or poaching, around the world. Illegal trade: Illegal trade of sturgeon and caviar exacerbates conservation problems. Sturgeon products, particularly caviar, are compact, easy to conceal, and extremely valuable. A number of sturgeon-producing countries, most notably Russia, have experienced political turmoil over the past decade; as a result, black markets have flourished at the same time fishery management and enforcement programs have collapsed. Life history characteristics: Sturgeon reproduce more slowly than other fish. They can take between six and 25 years to reach sexual maturity, and females of many sturgeon species reproduce once every three to four years. Therefore, sturgeon are vulnerable to overfishing and unable to recover quickly. In fact, depleted sturgeon populations may take a century or more to recover. In addition, their predictable migration patterns and bottom-feeding habits make them relatively easy prey for fishermen, who kill the fish to collect the roe. Lack of Effective Management: Many sturgeon and paddlefish migrate through the waters of different states and countries, often resulting in a patchwork of catch levels, fishing seasons, size limits and other management measures. Many of the worldis most imperiled sturgeon populations live in politically and economically unstable countries, further hampering effective management. Loss of habitat: Sturgeon migrate up rivers to spawn. Dam construction, diversion of river water for irrigation and other purposes, and siltation of spawning and rearing habitats have nearly eliminated spawning runs on many large river systems used by sturgeon. Dams also alter river flow patterns, disrupting the natural signals that sturgeon rely on in their spawning migrations. Fish iladders,i intended to help fish surmount dams, generally have been ineffective for sturgeon. Pollution: Pollutants from urban and agricultural runoff and industrial discharges have been linked to significant reproductive and other abnormalities in sturgeon, and have triggered large fish kills. Some U.S. and international measures are in place protect sturgeon. Of the eight species of sturgeon and one species of paddlefish found in the United States, five species or subspecies are listed under the Endangered Species Act. Internationally, all sturgeon species are listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), two under Appendix I (under which international commercial trade is prohibited) and the rest under Appendix II (under which international trade is allowed only with a CITES permit from the management agency of the exporting nation). These measures are not enough, particularly for Caspian Sea sturgeon, which supply 90 percent of the worldis caviar. Beluga sturgeon, the source of beluga caviar, is so depleted that it may no longer be reproducing naturally in the Caspian Sea. To prevent extinction of this ancient fish and to prevent other sturgeon species from suffering the same fate, The Caviar Emptor Campaign, launched by the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Wildlife Conservation Society and SeaWeb, has called for: n An international ban on all beluga caviar trade; n The United States to list beluga sturgeon as an endangered species; n International funding to protect and restore Caspian Sea sturgeon; n Stronger U.S enforcement of international trade restrictions on caviar imports; n Support for environmentally sound aquaculture as an alternative to wild sturgeon caviar; n Stronger state management of U.S. sturgeon species. The campaign further recommends that consumers reduce their consumption of caviar and particularly avoid beluga caviar. If consumers do buy caviar, better choices include iaquaculturedi caviar, North Star Caviar and Yellowstone Caviar. ***** Seals Die en masse in Caspian British Broadcasting Corporation, December 01, 2000 Excerpt from report by Russian NTV on 26th November [Presenter] Ecologists have registered seals dying en masse on the Caspian Sea shore. The reasons for the calamity are unknown yet. Grave injuries were found on dead animals' bodies that may have caused their death. Ilyas Shurpayev provides the details. [Correspondent] The bodies of dead seals can be found every 20-25 m along the whole shore of the northern part of the Caspian Sea today. One can encounter real seal cemeteries consisting of 5-10 dead animals in some places. Russia's Greenpeace representatives and the Dagestani Natural Reserves Committee were staggered with the scope of what they had seen. Following a preliminary examination of over 50 dead animals they say that the seals were young and healthy enough. [Nataliya Oliferenko, captioned as the head of Russia's Greenpeace rapid-reaction laboratory] There are very many young seals among them, some of them were obviously born this year. The seals [health] condition is good. We saw this from autopsy. We assessed their fat layer. One can not say that they perished of emaciation. [Correspondent] The ecologists find it difficult as yet to pinpoint reasons for the sea animals' death en masse. At first scientists surmised it was a viral infection or poisoning with industrial waste. However, a preliminary examination of the dead seals yielded unexpected results. [Aleksey Kiselev, captioned as Russia's Greenpeace coordinator] Many seals are found with mechanical injuries of a very accurate shape. Some look like bullet holes. It seems that some mechanical device has inflicted them, as if by a machine at a cannery. The story turns out to be semi-detective. [Correspondent] The ecologists say that until the reason for the death of the seals is known there is a real threat not only to sea animals but humans as well. [Akhmed Mungiyev, captioned as the head of the natural resources committee, Russian Ministry of Natural Resources] If we treat the issue too lightly then an unknown reason may finally affect people as well. Therefore, I think that little attention given to the problem is fraught with consequences. ***** RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC ___________________________________________________________ RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 4, No. 233, Part I, 4 December 2000 AZERBAIJAN REJECTS IRANIAN WARNING OF MILITARIZATION OF CASPIAN. Azerbaijan's National Security Minister Namig Abbasov on 30 November rejected as untrue the claim by Iranian armed forces commander Major-General Mohammad Salimi that the U.S. and Israel are deploying military forces in the Caspian, Turan and Interfax reported. IRNA had quoted Salimi as saying on 26 November in Tehran that those forces could launch an attack on Iran. LF AZERBAIJAN UNABLE TO FUND ITS SHARE OF BAKU-CEYHAN PIPELINE? Ilham Aliev, Vice-President of the Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR, told journalists in Baku on 30 November that Azerbaijan may be constrained to sell part of its 50 percent stake in project to build the Baku-Ceyhan oil export pipeline for Caspian oil, Interfax reported. He said SOCAR may retain a 30 percent stake in the project. Meanwhile the president of Georgia's International Oil Corporation, Giorgi Chanturia, said in Tbilisi on 1 December that British Petroleum, which has a 25.41 percent stake in the Baku-Ceyhan project, has presented to Georgia maps highlighting a10 kilometer wide corridor within which the pipeline will be routed, according to Interfax. LF |