News Roundup - December 5, 2007

Eurasia Daily Monitor: European energy consumers likely to lose Kazakhstan battle to “Oriental Bloc”

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s November 21-23 Balkan tour, which came on the heels of his trip to the United Arab Emirates and Syria, symbolically demonstrated Kazakhstan’s adherence to its trumpeted multi-vector foreign policy…

Reuters: Exxon against Kazakh oilfield settlement plan

U.S. company Exxon Mobil is against raising Kazakhstan’s stake at the expense of other members of the consortium developing the huge Kashagan oilfield, Kazakh Energy Minister Sauat Mynbayev said on Tuesday…

CNN Money: Kazakh KazMunaiGas to pay for increased Kashagan stake - CEO

Kazakh state-run oil and gas company KazMunaiGas, or KMG, will pay to increase its stake in the Eni SpA-led (E) consortium developing the giant Kashagan oil field, but its chief executive Tuesday declined to say how much the company intends to spend on the deal…

Reuters: Opposition regrets Kazakhstan to run OSCE in 2010

Kazakhstan’s opposition accused Europe’s main human rights and security watchdog on Tuesday of putting oil before democracy by choosing the Central Asian state to hold its chairmanship in 2010…

Hemscott: Roxi Petroleum remains hopeful of positive outcome in North Karamandybas suit

Kazakhstan-focused Roxi Petroleum PLC said it remains hopeful of a positive outcome to a legal challenge about the ownership of the vendors’ interests in the North Karamandybas asset before completing its acquisition…

Eurasianet: Turkmenistan: Can Ashgabat keep all of its energy export promises?

When it comes to energy-related deals, Turkmenistan’s leader, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, is picking up where his predecessor, the megalomaniacal Saparmurat Niyazov, left off; making promises that the Central Asian state may or may not be able to ultimately fulfill…

Reuters: Kazakhstan may charge Gazprom more for gas transit

Kazakhstan is considering raising transit fees for gas from Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, which is imported by Russia’s Gazprom , an executive from Kazakh state energy firm KazMunaiGas said on Tuesday…

Interfax: Sberbank’s Kazakhstan subsidiary to double assets in 2007

The Kazakhstan-based subsidiary of Russia’s Sberbank (RTS: SBER) plans to double assets to 60 billion tenge in 2007…

The Oil and the Glory: How to Tarnish A Hard-Won Reputation

It’s not a household name in the United States, but in the former Soviet Union the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is a source both of irritation and solace…