Page 6 - FSUOGM Week 02 2022

FSUOGM COMMENTARY FSUOGM

during electronic trading, as there is no mecha- He issued a presidential decree in June last
nism to limit such increases. year urging for the project’s development to be
The full transition to electronic trading of accelerated.
LPG will be postponed by a year, and a commis- “At the moment only a feasibility study has
sion has been set up to investigate the situation been carried out. The issue of financing the pro-
in the meantime, the president said. ject has not been resolved,” he said.
“During this period, the regulatory frame- Kazakhstan relies to a great degree on
work should be carefully prepared, the trans- imported LPG from Russia that has been sep-
parency operation of trading platforms should arated from natural gas delivered from Kazakh-
be ensured, and mechanisms to limit the sharp stan to Russia for processing. The government is
rise in prices should be introduced,” Tokayev therefore striving to build up domestic gas pro-
said. cessing capacity to reduce these imports.
The president also ordered the Prosecutor
General to launch a probe into potential price Impact on oil
collusion that has taken place. Prosecutors will Chevron, the operator of Kazakhstan’s largest
submit a report on their findings within 20 days. oilfield Tengiz, confirmed on January 6 that pro-
What is more, he called for systemic reforms duction had been affected by the unrest. Media
to the gas and gas processing sectors to ensure reports show workers at the field joining the pro-
that there is enough investment and that supply test over LPG prices.
is stable. There is no other evidence of an impact on
“We cannot do without systemic, but oil output in the second-largest crude producer
thoughtful and gradual reforms,” he said. “It is in the former Soviet Union after Russia. Foreign
necessary to carry out a quality reset of the gas oil majors play a significant role in the country’s
industry, to ensure full loading of commercial hydrocarbon sector. Besides Chevron, they
gas on the domestic market.” include Eni, ExxonMobil, Shell, TotalEnergies,
The president also took aim at delays in the Inpex and CNPC. Oil prices have nevertheless
construction of a new LPG plant in Mangystau. jumped on news of the unrest. ™
PIPELINES & TRANSPORT

New German govt stresses Nord

Stream 2 is just business

EUROPE THE Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to bring more policies towards Russia regarding the amassing
Russian gas to Germany should be viewed sepa- of its troops at the border with Ukraine, nor its
The Social Democrats rately to any political and human rights disputes alleged human rights abuses.
Party shares the with Moscow, a senior official from the Social SPD’s position on Nord Stream 2 mirrors
position of former Democrats Party (SDP) that leads the country’s that of the former chancellor Angela Merkel’s
Chancellor Angela coalition government said, echoing the view of Christian Democratic Union, which insisted
Merkel. former chancellor Angela Merkel. that Nord Stream 2 should be treated only as a
The controversial Russian project was com- commercial project that would benefit Germany,
pleted in September but is yet to flow any gas, as rather than a political one. But it also clashes with
first the Gazprom-owned operator of the pipe- that of its junior coalition partner, the Greens,
line must be certified by German regulators. who staunchly oppose the pipeline, on both
Gazprom suffered a major setback on this front political and environmental grounds, arguing
in November, when regulators said they would that it will lock in extra demand for gas in Ger-
suspend the certification process until Gazprom many for many years to come.
had registered a German subsidiary to manage The Greens have also harshly criticised the
the pipeline. European Commission for recently proposing to
A final decision is no longer anticipated until recognise gas and nuclear energy as sustainable
the second half of this year, and regulators have investments, accusing Brussels of greenwashing.
stressed that certification must be completed In an attack on this viewpoint, Kuehnert said that
before the pipeline can flow any gas. trying to get the EU to block a path for nuclear
“Nord Stream 2 is, so to say, nearly connected energy was “utopian.” While Germany opposes
to the grid, with only the lack of legal permits nuclear power, most other member states sup-
hindering the final start of operations,” the SPD’s port its use, he said.
general secretary Kevin Kuehnert said in an SPD has also followed in the policy of the
interview with Reuters on January 8. “At some preceding government in recognising gas as a
stage, there must be political and legal peace in bridge fuel that can serve as a replacement for
such a discussion.” nuclear and coal, which Germany is phasing out,
Kuehnert stressed that discussions about the until renewables have been sufficiently scaled
project should not be mixed up with German up.™

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