July 2010

Azerbaijan has always been very reliable transit country, U.S. Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy Richard Morningstar said on July 28 in Astana. Regarding assistance in continuation of Kazakh oil's transportation from Tengiz field via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline, Morningstar stressed that Chevron hasn't appealed regarding assistance in the resumption of transit of the Tengiz oil via the BTC. "The U.S. has always supported the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and I was very actively involved in this process in the years in government service. And we [the U.S.] supported the possibility of transporting the Kazakh oil via the BTC, but also supported the project of expansion of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) and Trans-Caspian Kazakh Oil Transport System to export new amounts of oil from the Caspian region," Morningstar said.

Since early 2010, TengizChevrOil has stopped shipping oil from the Kazakh oil field Tengiz via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline due to tariff increase. Amounts previously supplied via the pipeline, are now transported by rail from Baku to the Georgian Black Sea ports of Batumi and Kulevi.

 

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev received BP executive director Tony Hayward. The President stressed the successful long-term cooperation between BP and Azerbaijan. He expressed confidence that this partnership will expand more in future. Tony Hayward stressed the successful cooperation between the Azerbaijani government, BP and SOCAR.

BP head once again noted the importance of oil and gas projects "Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli" and Shah Deniz, as well as Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and South Caucasus gas pipeline for Azerbaijan, the region and the global energy market. It was stressed that the full development of Shah Deniz field is one of the important projects for Azerbaijan and BP.

 

The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) and BP signed a document called Heads of Agreement (HOA) which defines the basic commercial principles for a PSA for the Shafag and Asiman offshore blocks. The Agreement follows the signing in London on July 13, 2009 of the memorandum of understanding between SOCAR and BP to jointly explore and develop the Shafag and Asiman structures in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea.

 

Azerbaijan's currency reserves have increased from 20 to 24.7 billion US dollars in the first six months of the year, said the President of Azerbaijan in his remarks at a Cabinet meeting aimed to discuss the outcomes of the socio-economic development in the first half of 2010.

President also praised the country's economic development, underlining a 3.7-percent growth in the first half of the year.

 

The trade deal as part of the Azerbaijan-EU association agreement can be signed after the country joins the World Trade Organization, Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Mahmud Mammad-Guliyev said. According to him, it can not hamper commodity turnover between Azerbaijan and EU. Azerbaijan joined the EU's Generalized System of Preferences program (GSP+) in 2009.

Azerbaijani businessmen can partly use this program. Despite this fact, discussions will be held for the fourth group of agreement talks - in the field of trade. The main aim of GSP project is to promote development of non-oil sector in Azerbaijan and enhance country's export capacity. This program provides preferential access to the EU market for Azerbaijani businessmen in the form of reduced tariffs for their goods when entering the EU market.

 

The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and Turkey's Botas company signed a protocol of intent on the construction of a gas pipeline from Turkey to Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. Under the agreement, Azerbaijani gas will be transported to Nakhchivan via Turkey's Igdir province. A working group will develop technical details of the project.

 

The Negotiation Team of Azerbaijan on the accession to the WTO led by Ambassador Mahmud Mammad-Quliyev, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, visited Geneva from 19 to 23 July 2010. The delegation held bilateral negotiations on market access in the field of services with several WTO members, and consultations in the WTO Secretariat.

 

Baku hosted the 11th Azerbaijan-Germany business forum organized by the Ministry of Economic Development of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan Investments and Export Promotion Foundation (AzPROMO) and Germany-Azerbaijan Economic Union. The event brought together officials and about 50 businessmen representing the spheres such as agriculture, food industry, alternative energy, finance, oil-gas and machine-building.

 

Ankara hosted a ceremony to grant a license to SOCAR-TURCAS Joint Venture to build a new refinery in Izmir province of Turkey. The license was granted by the Turkish Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA). Addressing the event SOCAR-TURCAS Executive Manager and member of Petkim Board of Directors Kenan Yavuz said the new facility will be built in the area of petrochemical complex Petkim. He noted the construction of the plant would involve about 10,000 people. He added the facility will employ about 1,000 people when it started to operate.

 

Gunther Oettinger, European Union's Commissioner for Energy, has once again stressed the importance of the Nabucco gas pipeline project, adding that the implementation of this project is among key priorities for the EU. Addressing an international forum in Odessa, Ukraine, entitled "Promoting Energy Security and Investment in the Black Sea region: the Role of Multilateral Cooperation", Oettinger said: "Azerbaijan is a major energy player in the region and a key partner for the European Union. I was pleased to meet President Aliyev in Baku in April. I can confirm that our co-operation is built on solid foundations, underpinned by clear mutual interests. The participation of Azerbaijan in the Eastern Partnership is a historic milestone and by signing the Southern Corridor Declaration in Prague, Azerbaijan has confirmed its critical role and commitment to building bridges to the EU.”