Page 14 - FSUOGM Week 17 2022

FSUOGM NEWS IN BRIEF FSUOGM

maintaining safe operations’ and reiterated and the Chinese yuan are definitely likely Kazakhstan expects to
it has reduced production at the giant candidates.
Tengiz field due to reduced loading Today Belarus ranks number 40 in global resume full operations on
capacity at the Russian port of Novorossiisk gas consumption and 86% of its total energy
following storm damage in March,'' S&P consumption is imported Russian gas, but CPC pipethis week
said. this might soon change. According to state
“TCO also alluded, however, to wider Belarusian media, the new nuclear power Kazakhstan expects to resume full
concerns about Kazakhstan's heavy plant (NPP) will substitute 25% (5.5bn operations on its main oil export route, the
reliance on the 1,500 km CPC pipeline cubic metres) of the country's natural gas CPC pipeline via Russia, this week.
across southern Russia and the facilities at consumption. Belarus does have a long- Energy Minister Bolat Akchulakov said
Novorossiisk in the context of the invasion term strategic goal of diversifying its total in a press release that repairs were “basically
of Ukraine and international efforts to energy imports up to 70% by 2035, and this completed” and one of the two moorings
punish Russia,” it added. “The CPC loading change might come sooner than previously said by Russia to have been affected by
disruption, though attributed to storm thought. storm damage was due to restart full
damage rather than any direct link to the Belarus and Russia are leaving the fixed operations on April 20.
invasion of Ukraine, put additional stress on dollar payments due to their inability to Kazakhstan was forced to reduce
markets and helped elevate global oil prices, acquire western foreign currency because deliveries via the CPC pipeline, which runs
prompting expressions of concern from the of sanctions. Belarus has been trapped in a to the Caspian Sea and normally accounts
International Energy Agency.” peculiar trade situation, where it's ready to for 80% of the country’s oil shipments, late
The CPC pipeline operator has said the produce but has nowhere to send its goods. last month after Russia claimed that the
sanctions on Russia are making it difficult Belarusian state media quoted Yuri pipeline was damaged due to bad weather.
to source parts it needs to maintain the Nazarov as saying that “in view of
loading facilities at Novorossiisk, while the restrictions, including those based on
landlocked Central Asian state currently sanctions, we've optimised oil refining at SOCAR employees protest
only has limited alternative routes for its oil two oil refineries of ours in order to meet
exports. needs of the domestic market.” in Baku
For TCO, the uncertainty comes amid What this means is essentially that due to
its ongoing works to complete a $45bn export routes closing, Belarus has no choice Azerbaijani internet television Meydan
expansion project intended to lift Tengiz but to severely lower production to mainly TV reported on 20 April that about a
output to 850,000 barrels per day. meeting domestic market needs. While the thousand workers of the state-owned Baku
In its latest comment, TCO said: trade balance will be improved, this will Oil Refinery named after former president
"As global crude oil markets continue drastically lower foreign currency earnings Heydar Aliyev held a protest action in front
to encounter challenges arising from and the number of employed workers in the of the refinery.
geopolitics, TCO's primary focus is on oil sector. One of the workers, who did not want
maintaining safe operations, and we are to be named for fear of losing his job,
exploring potential options in the event that told Meydan TV that his salary was being
these are needed." TCO begins shipping Kazakh delayed at the plant.
"The employment contract states that
salaries must be paid from the 1st to the
Belarus receives new oil via Georgia's Batumi 15th of the month. The total number of
employees at the plant is 1,300. On the 15th
Chevron's Tengizchevroil (TCO), operator
prices for Russian gas of the giant Tengiz oilfield in Kazakhstan, of the month, they paid the salaries of some
began shipping oil via Georgia's Batumi
employees. The rest are still waiting. For
and "optimises" its oil port on the Black Sea this month, Reuters two days in a row, thousands of workers
reported, citing two trade sources and
at the plant have been protesting, ”the
refineries' production Refinitiv Eikon data. complainant said.
The development comes after a sharp
The protester also said that they also
The Belarusian governments press service fall in exports from the Caspian Pipeline complained to the representatives of
quoted Belarus' Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Consortium (CPC) pipeline that runs to the owner, the State Oil Company of
Nazarov as saying that Russia's and Belarus' the Caspian Sea as Russia halted certain Azerbaijan. They were told that the issue
intergovernmental agreements on pricing mooring point operations over claimed would be considered.
agreements for gas have been amended. storm damage. "At the plant, the relevant people first
According to Nazarov, the price has been TCO plans to supply 3,000 tonnes of oil said that there was a delay, and then said
fixed until the end of the year and the US in April and 100,560 tonnes of oil in May that there was a problem in the bank.
dollar has been abandoned "completely." to Batumi port, according to the Refinitiv Thousands were not paid their March
While Lukashenko attempted to Eikon data. salaries. They say that this is construction
negotiate down the gas price several times The sources told Reuters that TCO work, and there may be a delay. We demand
last year, Belarus ended up receiving the planned to supply 140,000 tonnes of oil per our salaries and compensation,” the
same price as 2020 of $128.5 per 1,000 cubic month from the Tengiz field via Batumi complainant said.
metres. Nazarov did not mention what the port in the near future. Baku Oil Refinery leadership didn't
new prices are or in what currency they're The route is less profitable than the CPC comment on the issue. It is the only refinery
in; most likely prices will be in any other pipeline option. operating in Azerbaijan and is a part of the
larger country's currency which Belarus SOCAR structure.
has easy access too; the Russian ruble

P14 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 17 26•April•2022