Page 11 - FSUOGM Week 04 2022

FSUOGM NEWS IN BRIEF FSUOGM

a production sharing agreement (PSA) Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project, medium-scale chemical production is
for the exploration and development of according to Kabul-based TOLO news. one of the priority tasks both in Russia
the Ashrafi-Dan Ulduzu-Aypara block of The TOLO report also noted that and Kazakhstan. The chemical industry
promising structures. To implement the construction on electricity transmission should significantly contribute to the
projects, SOCAR and Equinor created an projects, the TAPI gas pipeline project economic development of our countries
operating company with parity shares (50% and a project to build an extension to a and the global agenda of decarbonization.
to 50%). railway connecting the two nations would Therefore, we expect that the joint
In March 2020, SOCAR and Equinor be commenced in March 2022 if new plans implementation of the initiatives of the
confirmed the discovery of the Karabakh work out. RUSNANO-SINTEZ Foundation will give
field following appraisal drilling. “We have agreed with Turkmenistan that an additional impetus to strengthening
Geological reserves of oil in the field are it will lend to Afghanistan the expenses to long-term partnerships between Russia
initially estimated at more than 60mn pay [for the TAPI project], and Afghanistan and Kazakhstan," said Vladimir Konovalov,
tonnes. Recoverable reserves are estimated will pay it back from the revenues of this managing director for investments of
at more than 21mn tonnes of oil and project in the future,” Waliullah Shaheen, RUSNANO Management Company.
13bcm of gas. director of strategic studies at the Afghan Sergey Lugovskoy, general director
Production of the first oil at the field foreign ministry, was cited as saying. of the Sintez OKA group, said: "We see
is scheduled to begin in 2025, followed The size of the loan has not been perspective directions for cooperation in
by the production of the first gas. At its disclosed. Afghanistan has not yet Russia and Kazakhstan. The increasing
peak, it is planned to produce more than determined its budget for the project.. trend towards decarbonization opens
5,000 tons of oil and up to 4.5mcm of gas up new markets for our products and
daily from the field. The project for the technologies. We are now looking at
primary development of the Karabakh field Kazakh wealth fund the possibility of cooperation with
provides for the drilling of 12 wells – six Kazakhstan's industrial enterprises to
oil, three gas and three water injection Samruk-Kazyna and separate CO2 from gaseous emissions.
wells. Our solutions and absorbents will provide
The Karabakh field is located 120km Russia’s RUSNANO-SINTEZ efficient CO2 removal from synthesis
east of Baku. The depth of the sea in the gas, tail gas, or flue gas, helping plants to
area of the deposit is 180 meters. The to create platform for joint minimize their carbon footprint."
Ashrafi-Dan Ulduzu-Aypara contract area
is located 50km east of Baku, 14km east chemical projects
of the coastline of Azerbaijan (Absheron Kazakh authorities change
Peninsula) and 7km east of the Chilov Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund
and Pirallahi Islands. The depth of the sea Samruk-Kazyna has signed an agreement mechanism for wholesale
varies from 20 to 225 meters. The Ashrafi on co-investment worth RUB14bn
field with reserves of 13 bcm of gas and ($183mn) with RUSNANO Management sales of LPG
17mn tonnes of condensate was discovered Company and Sintez-Capital to establish a
in 1999. It is located 100 km east of Baku. platform that will allow the parties to jointly The Kazakh authorities have decided to sell
The sea depth in the area of the deposit implement chemical projects in Kazakhstan liquified petroleum gas (LPG) according to
varies from 250 to 450 meters. and Russia, Samruk-Kazyna said on January requests made by local governing bodies
In 1997, SOCAR signed a contract 19. instead of selling it via an electronic trading
for the development of the Ashrafi-Dan- The projects expected to be carried out platform, which was the case earlier, the
Ulduzu structure block with BP (30%), thanks to the new platform include the press service of the Kazakh prime minister
Unocal (25.5%), Itochu (20%) and Delta construction of new plants and enterprises said in a statement.
HESS (4.5%). SOCAR's share in this for producing oilfield chemicals and The change forms part of the Kazakh
project was 20%. As part of exploration special absorbents based on methyl authorities' attempt to regulate LPG prices
work at Ashrafi, small hydrocarbon diethanolamine (MDEA). They are set in order to appease protesters who rallyied
reserves of about 20-40mn tonnes were to meet growing demand for highly against growing fuel prices. It was such
discovered. The contract lost its legal force efficient sorbents based on MDEA, which protests in early January that were the
on March 7, 2000. is required for purifying natural and first sign of the mass social unrest that
processed gases from acidic impurities. subsequently swept Kazakhstan for several
"With this agreement, we are laying days.
Taliban-controlled the foundation for long-term cooperation retail sellers purchased LPG via the
In December 2021 and January 2022,
with the RUSNANO-SINTEZ Fund. We
Afghanistan and are interested in the joint implementation electronic trading platform at wholesale
market prices, the press service noted. On
of chemical projects in Kazakhstan and
Turkmenistan to commence Russia and the transfer of promising January 5, the authorities set a price ceiling
on retail sales of LPG.
technologies to Kazakhstan," said
work on TAPI, other projects Yernar Zhanadil, managing director petroleum gas out of the electronic trading
"It has been decided to sell liquified
for investments, privatisation and
Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and international cooperation at the wealth platform - through the plan of supplies to
Turkmenistan have agreed on a meeting of fund and a member of the management the domestic market on the basis of requests
“technical teams'' in Kabul on January 22 board of Samruk-Kazyna. of local governing bodies. The rules for
to discuss the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan- "The development of small- and the formation of the plan on the supply of

Week 04 26•January•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P11