News Roundup

News Roundup - May 23, 2008

By SRI ⋅ May 23, 2008 ⋅

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energy:

Kazakhstan may enforce universal oil export duty

(Reuters) - Kazakhstan announced plans on Thursday to enforce an oil export duty for all producers in the resource-rich country, alarming Western companies that have so far been exempt from the measure.

Next year all extractive companies will be subject to oil export duty - Finance Minister (Interfax)

Kazakhstan to seek new export routes

(Oil and Gas Eurasia) - Kazakhstan will seek new routes to Europe for its oil and gas exports as Central Asia’s biggest energy producer raises shipments.

Caspian pipeline shareholders object to Russia plan

(Reuters) - Debt redemption schedules and interest remain the key stumbling block for Russia and Western majors to clear the expansion of the CPC oil pipeline from Kazakhstan to Russia, a consortium member said on Thursday.

Caspian pipeline expansion nearing approval

(RBC News) - Whether to increase the capacity of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium or not is to be resolved by the end of May 2008, Deputy Energy and Mineral Resources Minister of Kazakhstan Lyazat Kiinov told an energy forum in Kiev today.

Kazakhstan’s oil product export ban ineffective – expert (TREND)

Ukraine 0ffers Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan to participate in oil refinery (TREND)

Tethys Petroleum Limited: Secondary listing on Kazakhstan RFCA completed (Marketwire/Yahoo! Finance)

mineral resources:

ENRC goes charitable

(neweurasia.net) - ENRC is still in rivalry with Kazakhmys over who is going to eat who. It is believed that the Kazakh government urged the two companies to come to a conclusion concerning the merger.

business and economy:

Vnesheconombank to grant loan to Kazakh bank

(RBC News) - The Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs (Vnesheconombank) and the Development Bank of Kazakhstan have entered into an agreement of intent.

Nazarbayev insists on Eurasian canal construction

(Kazinform) - As earlier reported, the idea on construction of a Eurasian Canal connecting the Caspian Sea with the Black Sea was proposed by N. Nazarbayev at the XI International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg in summer 2007. “The Canal will be 1000km shorter than the Volga-Don canal”, the President said.

Kazakhstan plans to acquire a share in one of the grain terminals of Ukraine at the Black Sea (Kazakhstan Today/Gazeta.kz)

Russia and Kazakhstan mulling cooperation in nanotechnology (RBC News)

National Bank of Kazakhstan: Exchange rates May 23, 2008 (Kazinform)

Indicators - May 22, 2008

(Reuters) - Kazakhstan’s economic indicators based on data provided by the State Statistics Agency, government institutions, the central bank and exchanges.

politics:

Medvedev holds Kazakhstan talks

(BBC News) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has held talks with the president of Kazakhstan, during the first stop on his maiden foreign trip.

Russia’s Medvedev travels to Kazakhstan

(AP/International Herald Tribune) - Dmitry Medvedev visited neighboring Kazakhstan Thursday on his first trip abroad as Russia’s new president, seeking to preserve its clout in the energy-rich Central Asian region.

Russian president sends message with Kazakh trip (AP/Houston Chronicle)

Russia’s Medvedev in Kazakhstan to talk energy (Reuters)

Russia, Kazakhstan to forge military cooperation (Itar-Tass)

Medvedev, Nazarbayev to draft long-term economic coop strategy (Itar-Tass)

Medvedev, Nazarbaev to sign joint statement on further friendship, cooperation (Interfax)

Medvedev’s visit to Kazakhstan covers economic relations (Interfax)

Russian vector to remain most important priority in Kazakhstan’s foreign policy : N. Nazarbayev (Kazinform)

Kazakh delegation visited Israel (Kazinform)

society:

OSCE appeals to Kazakhstan to restore RFE/RL website

The OSCE’s representative on media freedom, Miklos Haraszti, has urged the government of Kazakhstan to restore access to RFE/RL’s Kazakh-language website, which has been blocked for nearly six weeks despite repeated requests by RFE/RL that the service be restored.

regional news:

Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan improve relations

(UPI) - As Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan improve their relations after a long hiatus, Western hopes are revived for an undersea trans-Caspian natural gas pipeline.

Kiev seeks $2.5Bln gas pipe upgrade

(Bloomberg/The Moscow Times) - Ukraine is looking for $2.5 billion from the European Union to upgrade its natural gas pipeline system and increase the volume of fuel that can be shipped to the region, President Viktor Yushchenko said Thursday.