Page 51 - GEORptJun22

9.0 Industry & Sectors 9.1 Sector news
9.1.1 Oil & gas sector news
TCO beings shipping Kazakh oil via Georgia’s Batumi airport
Georgia reduces gas importa, increases oil imports from Azerbaijan
Chevron's Tengizchevroil (TCO), operator of the giant Tengiz oilfield in Kazakhstan, began shipping oil via Georgia's Batumi port on the Black Sea this month, Reuters reported, citing two trade sources and Refinitiv Eikon data.
The development comes after a sharp fall in exports from the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) pipeline that runs to the Caspian Sea as Russia halted certain mooring point operations over claimed storm damage.
TCO plans to supply 3,000 tonnes of oil in April and 100,560 tonnes of oil in May to Batumi port, according to the Refinitiv Eikon data.
The sources told Reuters that TCO planned to supply 140,000 tonnes of oil per month from the Tengiz field via Batumi port in the near future.
The route is less profitable than the CPC pipeline option.
According to the Georgian National Statistics Office (GEOSTAT), the country imported 1mn tonnes of gas from Azerbaijan worth $162mn in 10M21.
The value of gas imported from Azerbaijan decreased by $41mn or 20.4% annually, and the volume decreased by 191,797.78 tonnes or 15.05% in the same timeframe. Georgia imported 1.3mn tonnes of gas from Azerbaijan worth $204mn in 2020. Overall Georgia imported a total of $235mn worth of gas abroad in 10M21, which is 1.5% less than 2020. Thus, Azerbaijan's share in Georgia's gas imports during the reporting period was 69.06%.
When it comes to oil, on the contrary, Georgia has sharply increased imports from Azerbaijan in the same timeframe. Georgia imported 204179 tonnes of oil worth $113mn. The value of oil increased by $62mn or 2.22 times in annual terms, and the volume increased by 37045 tonnes or 22.6%. In contrast, Georgia imported 167,133.82 tonnes of oil from Azerbaijan worth $50mn in 2020.
9.1.2 Transport sector news
Iran the winner as Ukraine conflict repercussions divert European trade flows
The Ukraine conflict has reportedly resulted in a surprising surge of trade flows from Europe to the East and South via Iran. Given transit restrictions applied amid penalties imposed on Russia, consignments are being diverted via the International North-South Transportation Corridor (INSTC) that traverses Iranian territory to reach the Indian Ocean.
“This ongoing trend saw Iranian goods transit increase 52% in March and creates something of a political quandary for both the European Union and United States, as Iran, like Russia is also under significant US sanctions. Washington would prefer not to see any Iranian international trade or the facilitation of this, whereas Europe needs this access route to Asia following Russia sanctions [introduced in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine],” noted Silk Road Briefing in a May 23 assessment of the unexpected development.
It added: “At some point, the United States is going to make a call whether
51 GEORGIA Country Report June 2022 www.intellinews.com