News Roundup - October 16, 2007

EnerPub: Oil Companies on Defensive in Kazakhstan

Development of the Kashagan oil field appears close to getting back on track, as the Kazakhstani government and a consortium led by the Italian oil company Eni SpA make progress in settling grievances surrounding the project…

Malaysia Star: Steppe Cement Poised for Growth

Steppe Cement Ltd chief executive officer Javier Del Ser Perez talks to StarBiz about its operations in Kazakhstan…

Islamic Republic News Agency: President Says Iran, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan to Establish Railway

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday that Iran, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan will establish joint railway networks…

Kazinform: Kazakh President Satisfied with Results of Top-Level Talks in Tehran

At a press conference following up the top-level negotiations in Tehran between presidents of Iran and Kazakhstan Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Nursultan Nazarbayev the latter said he was satisfied with its results, Kazinform correspondent reports…

RIA Novosti: Cleanup after Rocket Crash in Kazakhstan Completed

Kazakhstan has completed decontamination work at the site where a Russian Proton rocket crashed last month, the Central Asian country’s emergencies ministry said on Monday…

Ferghana.ru: Kazakh Investors Need a Predictable Elite in Kyrgyzstan

The Bishkek Press Club approached Kazakh political scientist Eduard Poletayev for comments. Here is an interview with Poletayev on how the developments in Kyrgyzstan are viewed in Kazakhstan and on what is expected by way of the outcome of the referendum and parliamentary election in Kyrgyzstan…

Energy Current: Kazakhs Know Their Role in Energy Security

Kazakhstan is aware of its importance in providing the world with energy, President Nursultan Nazarbayev said today as he announced the production timetable for the coming decade…

Gazeta.KZ: Caspian Sea “Black Pearl” and Local Oil Ambitions

One of the most significant news sounded on recently held Kazakhstani International Exhibition “Oil and Gas” - KIOGE 2007 was a statement of “KazMunaiGas” (KMG) president, Uzakbai Karabalin, on new discovered oil reserves on the shelf of the Caspian Sea…

Reuters: Kazakhstan Jan-Sept Copper, Zinc Output Down

Kazakhstan’s refined copper output fell 4.1 percent year-on-year to 297,017 tonnes in January-September, the statistics agency said on Monday…

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty: Politicians Stake Out Territory Ahead Of Caspian Summit

Tehran is set to host a Caspian Sea summit at which the leaders of Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan will try to hammer out a legal framework for use of the sea and its resources, including significant energy deposits…

RIA Novosti:Caspian Nations Expected to Sign Sea Status Declaration

A declaration expected to be signed at the Caspian summit in Tehran on October 16 will act as a guideline until the approval of a convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea, Russia said on Monday…

Kazinform: Kazakh Investment Company Interested in Privatization of Some Iranian Firms

Eurasian Industrial Investment Company JSC (Kazakhstan) is interested in privatization of a number of Iranian enterprises…

Oil and Glory: Where’s My Cut?

What does $86 oil mean in the former Soviet Union? More muscular attitude from Russia’s already swollen President Putin, and greater petro-assertiveness from Kazakhstan…