Central Asia

Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are going over increasing the transit of Kazakh oil through Azerbaijan to 57 million tonnes, an official at Azerbaijan's. stateowned oil business SOCAR said on Thursday. Kazakhstan is attempting to decrease reliance on Russia with. regard to its energy exports, as most of Kazakhstan's flow of. 1.5 million barrels daily or 1.5% of worldwide supply go by means of. various Russian pipelines. We are presently performing negotiations with the Kazakh. side about increasing oil transit from this country to 5-7. million tonnes, stated Zaur Gakhramanov, an advisor to SOCAR's. president. Azerbaijan plans to open an oil terminal...

Turkey and Azerbaijan have actually agreed to extend their natural gas supply agreement, due to end at the end of this year, till 2030, and to provide Turkmen gas to Turkey, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Tuesday. The extended Azerbaijan-Turkey gas deal covers the delivery of 3.5 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas per year to Turkey until 2030, a SOCAR official told in Baku. In addition to the accord in between Turkey's state gas grid operator BOTAS and the Azeri gas supply business, 4 contracts were signed between BOTAS and Azerbaijan's state oil company SOCAR for...

In spite of moving Sunday's. oil output decisionmaking conference online, a number of OPEC+. ministers prepare to fly to Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh, 2. OPEC+ sources stated. OPEC oil-producing countries plus others including Russia make. up OPEC+, which is set to choose its production policy for the. remainder of 2024 and potentially next year. Sources stated OPEC+ is expected to talk about a complex deal. that may extend deep oil production cuts into 2025. Numerous OPEC+ ministers have actually been welcomed to Riyadh, sources. stated on Friday. OPEC+ members are currently cutting output by a total of. 5.86 million barrels...

Kazakhstan resumed gas exports in May that had actually been on hold since May 2022, sending 2,000 metric tons of the fuel to Georgia in May, 3 market sources familiar with the matter stated on Wednesday. Kazakhstan banned fuel exports 2 years ago to protect its domestic market from fuel lacks. Before the ban was introduced, in April 2022, Kazakhstan delivered some 26,000 tons of gas to foreign markets. Prior to this Kazakhstan likewise suspended fuel exports in 2021, while in 2020 its fuel exports totaled up to 494,000 tons. The Condensate refinery, an independent refinery in Kazakhstan, was granted...

Urals petroleum differentials firmed to outdated Brent on Friday in the middle of softer freight rates for the grade's shipments to Asia. Urals differentials to outdated Brent in northwest Europe firmed by some 70 cents per barrel to discounts above minus $13. per barrel, computations reveal. Discounts for 140-tonne Urals cargoes in the Mediterranean. have actually narrowed by some 25 cents and stand above minus $10 per. barrel to Brent. Freight rates for Aframax ships, which usually fill some. 720,000 barrels of Urals crude in Primorsk or Ust-Luga for a. one-way trip to Indian ports, alleviated to average some $7...

At least three tankers with Russian Urals oil on board picked a longer path to Asia around the Africa's Cape of Great Hope in March and April as military risks in the Red Sea stay high, 2 traders stated and LSEG information revealed. 2 tankers, Fos Picasso and Hydra, bring some 200,000 metric lots of Urals oil packed from Baltic in April went to India around Africa, while the vast bulk of the vessels with Russian oil have actually been selecting the shorter path by means of Suez channel and Red Sea, LSEG information shows. Many ships bring Russian items...

Urals crude differentials were steady on Wednesday in a quiet session due to a public holiday in lots of countries for May 1, while discounts for CPC Blend oil to dated Brent narrowed somewhat in fresh trade. PLATTS WINDOW * ExxonMobil sold 100,000 metric tons of CPC Blend loading from Yuzhnaya Ozereyevka on May 22-26 to Vitol at dated Brent minus $3.60 per barrel CFR Augusta. * ExxonMobil had actually offered the exact same freight in the previous session at the very same cost, but had actually not discovered a purchaser. * No quotes or offers were produced Urals and...

Russia and its partners inside the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) have agreed to continue highsulphur bunker fuel usage and production for vessels inside the bloc up until the end of 2026, the Eurasian Economic Commission ( EEC) stated on its website. The International Maritime Company (IMO), of which Russia is a member, implemented a 0.5% sulphur content limitation for bunker fuel worldwide from 2020, in one of primary changes for the marine market in the last few years. However, the EEU has actually been sluggish to carry out the limit for its domestic water-borne transport, which allows its refineries to...

Kazakhstan braced on Friday for levels on the Ural River to rise sharply, something that might threaten 2 of its western areas and key oil facilities, while Russia came to grips with floods in and near Siberia. Both countries have in the last couple of weeks fought the worst floods in decades, which have required 10s of thousands individuals to evacuate. Hundreds of individuals were developing a 7-km (4.3-mile) barrier on Friday along the Ural River in the town of Yanvartsevo, in the West Kazakhstan area, about 20 km from the Russian border, which officials stated would likewise secure the...

Kazakhstan has raised its arbitration claims against the global oil majors that established the Kashagan oilfield to more than $150 billion, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing individuals familiar with the matter. Kazakhstan's energy minister stated last year it was pressing ahead with $16.5 billion in claims versus the consortium over disputed job costs and had no prepare for a possible out-of-court settlement. The report on Wednesday stated the figure had jumped after the Kazakhstan federal government added a claim for as much as $138 billion, showing the estimation of the value of oil production that was assured to the...

Black Sea CPC Blend oil exports via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) pipeline system are set to decline to about 4.9 million metric heaps in May from 5.4 million planned for April, three sources familiar with the matter stated. Daily CPC Blend oil exports will decrease by some 12% in May from April's strategy, calculations showed. A drop is expected due to prepared maintenance on the Tengiz oilfield, the sources stated. Tengizchevroil said on Wednesday it prepares to conduct set up maintenance at one of six production trains at the Tengiz oilfield in Kazakhstan in May amidst reports of an...

The corporate exodus from Russia considering that its 2022 intrusion of Ukraine has actually cost foreign companies more than $107 billion in writedowns and lost earnings, a analysis of business filings and statements showed. The volume of losses have increased by one 3rd given that the last tally in August last year, underscoring the scale of the financial hit to the business world from Moscow's invasion, as well as highlighting the sudden loss of Western knowledge from Russia's economy. As Russia's intrusion continues amid faltering Western military help, and the granularity of Western sanctions programs boosts, companies still intending to...

L Catterton, the private equity company backed by luxury items huge LVMH, on Wednesday clinched an offer to obtain a majority stake in pilates studio operator Solidcore from its existing owners. The deal values Solidcore at between $600 million and $700. million, according to an individual familiar with the matter. L. Catterton will own Solidcore through its Flagship Fund. The business, known for its difficult 50-minute exercise. classes on its sweatlana reformer makers, had actually been checking out. a sale with financial investment banks North Point and Piper Sandler,. Reuters reported in May. Consumers comprehend that motion is medicine, with...

Gold manufacturer Solidcore, formerly known as Polymetal International, plans to increase earnings in 2024 thanks to higher gold costs, CEO Vitaly Nesis stated on Friday. The Kazakhstan-based company posted a 73% year-on-year dive in adjusted EBITDA to $346 million for the very first half of 2024, driven by greater sales volumes and higher gold costs. Profits increased 79% to $704 million and its average realised gold price was up 17%. Gold costs powered greater on Friday, setting records, on expectations of U.S. rate of interest cuts. The cost of gold is substantially higher this year than last year. Therefore, we...

Britain's Serious Scams Office (SFO) has been declined authorization to appeal against a. judgment that it only opened a corruption probe into Kazakh mining. group ENRC because of its own wrongdoing, leaving the guard dog. facing a large damages expense. London's High Court ruled in December that ENRC was entitled. to millions of pounds in damages over a decade-long lawbreaker. investigation into alleged bribery, which was stopped by the SFO. in 2015 with no charges. ENRC had denied any misbehavior. That judgment also stated the SFO would not have released the. probe in 2013 if the company had not initially...

Glencore has developed 25,000 metric lots of unsold zinc due to the fact that of the growth and rampup of its Zhairem operation, part of its Kazzinc company in Kazakhstan, the business stated on Wednesday throughout a briefing call. We've had an accumulation in some stock, particularly in Kazakhstan in our zinc organization, so we've produced about 25,000 tonnes more than we offered ... Stocks will remain around the 25,000 level, said Glencore's primary monetary officer, Steven Kalmin. ( Zhairem) remains in quite a remote location and it's quite a. range from the processing centers, he said. A few of...

Gold producer Polymetal International prepares to double output by 2029 through acquisitions in Central Asia and will halt dividends while pursuing that goal, it stated on Tuesday in a strategy shift because the sale of its Russian properties. Polymetal's Russian company came under U.S. sanctions in 2023 after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. The group offered its Russian assets, which represented about 70% of output and more than 50% of core earnings, for about $3.7. billion this year. We will need a hell of a great deal of capital to achieve our. vision, and at the exact...

Urals petroleum differentials to outdated Brent were stable once again on Thursday, while CPC Blend oil differentials firmed amid enhanced need from refiners in Europe, traders said. CPC Blend remained less expensive than regional alternatives in the Mediterranean, while European refiners had an interest in purchasing June cargoes of petroleum as the spring upkeep season ended, traders stated. Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), the export path for CPC Mix, increased oil products in January-April by 4% from the very same duration a year previously to 22.715 million metric lots (1.44. million barrels per day), 2 industry sources said on Monday. PLATTS...

Azeri BTC unrefined differentials reduced on Friday after an offer in the afternoon trading window, while CPC Blend remains under pressure, as oil need in Mediterranean remains weak, traders said. * Any Danish relocate to limit the flexibility of navigation of Russian ships in the Baltic straits will be viewed as a hostile act and draw retaliation, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday. PLATTS WINDOW * SOCAR offered to Eni 650,000 barrels of Azeri BTC from Ceyhan over May 21-25 at dated Brent plus $1.55 per barrel. That was down by some 30 cents from the current...

Kazakh miner Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) has rejected accusations it attempted to bypass Democratic Republic of Congo's subcontracting laws designed to increase local ownership in the mining sector, job creation, and benefits to the nation's economy. In a declaration released last week, Congo's federal government accused ERG of passing off 9 subcontracting companies as majority partners with fictitious shares in order to circumvent legislation requiring that Congolese investors own 50% of subcontracting shares. The Regulatory Authority for Farming Out in the Personal Sector, a government body, stated that more than $535 million in sales had actually incorrectly gone to foreign-owned...

The European Union and the United States will fail to reach a vital minerals agreement at a meeting of leading authorities today, but will release a joint push to create collaborations with resourcerich nations. Brussels has been eager to protect a handle Washington that would enable vital minerals mined or processed in Europe to qualify for U.S. clean automobile tax breaks. A senior European Commission authorities stated a deal was not. predicted by the time the two-day Trade and Innovation Council. concluded on Friday, but a joint statement would say that the. two sides will work towards reaching a contract....

Urals crude differentials to outdated Brent were the same on Monday, while Azeri BTC oil filling plan from Ceyhan port in May showed a decrease of exports from April. Azeri BTC petroleum exports from Turkey's Ceyhan terminal are set at 16.50 million barrels in May compared to 16.55 million barrels in April, according to a packing schedule seen . Daily, Azeri BTC oil loadings will fall by around 3.52% next month compared to April, reaching simply over 532,000 barrels per day, computations show. PLATTS WINDOW * No bids or offers were produced Azeri BTC, CPC Blend or Urals oil in...

Urals unrefined differentials to dated Brent were unchanged on Wednesday, while more Russian oil refineries were attacked by drones. * Ukraine's SBU security service performed drone attacks on 3 Russian oil refineries in Ryazan, Kstovo and Kirishi overnight as part of a technique to reduce Russia's financial potential, a Ukrainian source informed on Wednesday. * Russia's Ryazan oil refinery shut down two primary oil refining units on Wednesday after a fire brought on by a drone attack, two sources familiar with the situation informed . * An unexpected decline in Russian oil refining may lead to top ups to Russia's...

Urals crude differentials to dated Brent were steady on Tuesday, while Russia's Lukoil NORSI refinery was knocked out in a significant Ukrainian drone attack. * Industry sources informed on condition of privacy that the main crude distillation system (AVT-6) at NORSI was damaged in the attack, which implies that at least half of the refinery's production is stopped. Lukoil declined to comment. * The NORSI refinery blackout might cause additions to the March loading plan for Russia's western ports, but no additional packing slots have been announced so far, traders said. * The United States is trying to help India...