Page 14 - DMEA Week 48 2021

DMEA NEWS IN BRIEF DMEA

this point of view, the refining of Azerbaijan’s executives said last week. Other refinery sales “We will soon pay the first instalment to
oil at the STAR plant is considered agreements are still pending. clear the gas debt that we owe to the Turkmen
unprofitable.” ARGUS side, after talks that were held earlier,” Owji
TREND said, while not specifying a debt figure.
Iran has the world’s second largest reserves
Mubadala closes Petrobras FUELS of natural gas after Russia, but most of its
major gas fields are located in its south, thus
refinery acquisition Iran, Azerbaijan and Iran has brought in gas from neighbouring
Turkmenistan in the north since 1997 for
Petrobras concluded the landmark $1.8bn Turkmenistan sign gas distribution in its northern provinces. It is
sale of its 333,000 b/d Landulpho Alves especially required during the winter.
refinery (RLAM) to Abu Dhabi’s state-owned swap agreement The new deal was signed on the sidelines
investment fund Mubadala, the first of eight of a summit of the Economic Cooperation
downstream assets the Brazilian state- Iran, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan have Organization (ECO). It members are all five
controlled company is hoping to shed. signed a trilateral gas swap deal that covers a Central Asian countries - Turkmenistan,
The refinery, renamed Mataripe, will come volume of up to 2bn cubic metres (bcm) per Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and
under the control of Mubadala-controlled year, Iran’s IRIB TV and Radio Broadcasting Uzbekistan - as well as Afghanistan,
Acelen starting 1 December. The sale price is Corporation reported on November 28. Azerbaijan, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey.
subject to a final adjustment in the coming Signed in the Turkmen capital, Ashgabat, “The signed document is very important.
months, Petrobras said in a securities filing. on the sidelines of a regional economic This is a historical document, it shows
Petrobras will support Acelen in operating summit, the swap deal boosts an existing how deep the Azerbaijani-Iranian ties are.
the refinery under a service provision agreement. Under the agreement, Iran will Azerbaijan will receive Turkmen gas through
agreement for 15 months, company executives receive gas from Turkmenistan and deliver Iran. This is good grounds for trilateral
have said. the same amount to Azerbaijan, Iranian Oil cooperation.
“We believe that, with new companies Minister Javad Owji told Iranian state media. The signed document is important from
operating in refining, the market will be “Turkmenistan will sell 5-6 million cubic the point of view of economic and energy
more competitive, and we will have more meters of gas per day to Azerbaijan under the security,” Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev
investments, which tends to strengthen the trilateral agreement,” Iranian state TV quoted said at the summit.
economy and generate benefits for society,” Owji as saying. Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi stressed
Petrobras chief executive Joaquim Silva e Luna Owji was further cited as saying that Iran that the signed deal was aimed at developing
said. was moving to resolve a gas debt dispute with relations between the countries involved. “In
Petrobras has signed a $33mn agreement Turkmenistan that began as far back as 2016. this direction, there is a need for numerous
with Canadian bank Forbes & Manhattan for In that year, Turkmenistan claimed that Iran steps and this document is aimed at
the 6,000 b/d SIX refinery and a $189.5mn owed at least $1.5bn for gas it had received expanding cooperation between the countries,
deal with Brazilian fuel distributor Atem for from Turkmenistan. Iran disputed the figure including in the spheres of economy, trade,
46,000 b/d Isaac Sabba (REMAN). Those and the matter moved to international transit and culture,” he said.
deals are expected to close in 2022, company arbitration, but it remains unresolved. NEWSBASE

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