News Roundup - November 5, 2007

Bloomberg: Lufthansa cargo flights allowed to fly over Russia

Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Europe’s second-biggest airline, can resume cargo flights over Russia for the next two weeks as the country’s government tries to force the German carrier to relocate its central Asian air-freight hub…

AFP: Lufthansa Cargo chief rejects pressure to fly to Siberia

The head of Lufthansa Cargo on Sunday refused to accept the relocation of its central Asia hub from Kazakhstan to Siberia as a done deal, saying the Russian airport Moscow wants it to use is unsafe…

Deutsche Welle: Russia pressures Lufthansa to move cargo hub

Germany is involved in a row with Moscow after Lufthansa cargo planes were barred from flying through Russian airspace apparently to pressure the carrier to move its Asian cargo hub from Kazakstan to Siberia…

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty: More Media Silenced As High-Stakes Feud Continues

The Kazakh media has been caught in the crossfire as mudslinging continues between a former presidential son-in-law and the country’s ruling elite. Four opposition weeklies that planned to republish a recent RFE/RL interview with Rakhat Aliev have been rejected by their publishing houses and did not go to print today…

Reuters: Kazakh uranium sulphuric acid issue solved by Jan

The problem of a sulphuric acid shortfall at uranium mining facilities in Kazakhstan will be solved by January 1, 2008, Kazakh state nuclear company Kazatomprom said on Friday…

New York Times: A war game supposes scarce and risky oil

War in Iran. Gasoline rationing, at $5 a gallon. A military draft. A Chinese takeover of Taiwan. Double-digit inflation and unemployment. The draining of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve…

The Oil and the Glory: Oil ShockWave and the Caspian

In the basement of the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Washington yesterday, a bipartisan group of senior foreign policy hands participated in a mock crisis triggered by a closure of the Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline…

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty: Regional Powers Look To Build New ‘Silk Roads’

Eight member countries of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) program have agreed to a strategy to improve Central Asia’s transport infrastructure. The plan was agreed at a two-day CAREC ministerial conference ending today in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe…

Reuters: Kazakhs set new, and last, deadline in Eni talks

Kazakhstan sees Nov.30 as the final deadline in its talks with an Eni-led group developing the huge Kashagan oilfield and may take “adequate” measures if the row is not settled by then, a senior official said on Friday…

Reuters: Total says hopes to conclude Kashagan talks quickly

France’s Total said on Friday talks were continuing between an ENI-led oil consortium and Kazakhstan about the development of the huge Kashagan oilfield…

The Financial Times: Six Kazakh banks downgraded

Six leading banks in Kazakhstan saw some of their credit ratings downgraded yesterday by Moody’s Investors Service as concerns mounted over a liquidity crisis in a sector which is heavily exposed to turbulent global credit markets…

The Financial Times: Gazprom seen as mystery suitor for Imperial

The financial arm of Russian giant Gazprom is understood to be the mystery bidder that has been looking to buy a 25 per cent stake in Imperial Energy, the UK-listed oil company. Last week, Imperial, which Russian officials have accused of overestimating its reserves, said it had received an unsolicited offer from an investor wishing to buy 25 per cent of the company…

New Europe: Nazarbayev signs subsoil law, throws investors into a tailspin

The head of Kazakhstan recently signed the amendments to the Law On Subsurface and Subsurface Use that had lately become a subject of heated discussions about the worsening of the investment climate in Kazakhstan…

AME: Air Astana launches direct non-stop flights from Kazakhstan capital to Dubai

Air Astana JSC, the Kazakhstan based carrier, announced the launch of its first direct non-stop flight from Astana City to Dubai from 30th October to meet growing commercial demands…