tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8909392287431604842024-02-07T09:46:40.536+03:30Energy, Economy and Foreign PolicyEmin Emrah Danışhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878307382776681577noreply@blogger.comBlogger510125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-890939228743160484.post-75982433537148021572014-08-14T18:31:00.000+04:302014-08-14T18:31:25.664+04:30Turkey urges US to lift obstacles on KRG oil sales<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b>The Financial Times By Daniel Dombey in Ankara and Anjli Raval in London</b></div>
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Turkey has called on the US to lift obstacles to the sale of oil by Iraq’s cash-strapped Kurds to help with their battle against the jihadis of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis).</div>
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The call, by a senior Turkish official, comes while the US carries out air strikes against Isis in support of the Kurdistan Regional Government, even as officials in Washington discourage international purchases of Kurdish oil for fear such a trade could further fragment the Iraqi state.</div>
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“This is urgent: Isis is now selling its oil, but the Kurds are not allowed to sell their oil,” the Turkish official told the Financial Times, referring to oilfields captured by the jihadist group in eastern Syria and around the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.</div>
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He claimed Isis was selling cut-price oil to the Syrian government – there are also allegations of widespread oil smuggling from the jihadist-controlled region, notably to Turkey itself – and compared those sales with the legal obstacles faced by KRG exports.</div>
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This week, Axeon, a US-based refiner said it would not proceed with a Kurdish buy because it was “controversial” – the latest in a series of rebuffs for tankers circling the globe with shipments of Kurdish oil.</div>
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With few buyers for its oil, one Kurdish official said the KRG was now working with Ankara on increasing storage capacity at the port of Ceyhan and elsewhere in Turkey, where the oil is piped before being loaded on to tankers, and was also looking at storing offshore.</div>
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Yet oil remains the principal source of revenue for the KRG, which has failed to keep up monthly salary payments to state employees since Baghdad cut off transfer payments early this year.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">The issue is one of intense concern for </span>Turkey<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">, which sees the KRG as a buffer against the rising threat from Isis and has invested in Kurdish oilfields. Behind the scenes, Ankara has also provided the KRG with substantial financial support.</span></div>
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However, Turkey is constrained from taking a leading role against Isis because of 49 Turkish hostages, who include members of the special forces and diplomats, seized by the jihadis in June.</div>
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“Our message for the US is always very clear,” said the senior Turkish official. “There is a dispute within Iraq on how to interpret the constitution [over rights to oil revenues] but if outsiders take sides it will not benefit either Iraq, nor energy security, nor future political conciliation.”</div>
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The central government in Baghdad argues that KRG sales without central government permission violate the Iraqi constitution. The US has also warned against “unilateral” moves such as oil sales without federal government approval.</div>
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“We have informed all interested parties that any such transactions exposes them to potential legal risks,” Brett McGurk, a top State Department official on Iraq, said in a tweet in May – although he subsequently denied there was any US ban “on the transfer or sale of oil originating from any part of Iraq” or that the US was taking sides.</div>
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Haider al-Abadi, the Shia politician recently nominated to replace Nouri al-Maliki as Iraqi prime minister, shares the outgoing Baghdad government’s opposition to unapproved Kurdish oil sales. He warned last year that they could lead to “the disintegration of the country” and backed the move to deny the KRG its share of budget revenues.</div>
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<i>Source: <a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/832866de-22fc-11e4-a424-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3AMik84j1">http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/832866de-22fc-11e4-a424-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3AMik84j1</a></i></div>
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Emin Emrah Danışhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878307382776681577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-890939228743160484.post-79965185129240495812014-08-08T12:23:00.000+04:302014-08-08T12:25:29.626+04:30How Guns And Oil Net ISIS $1 Million A Day <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Fortune </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: 20px;">Vivienne Walt </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Why extremist group ISIS is the world’s most frightening “startup.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Every startup needs financing and a market to succeed. So, too, for the Islamist extremist group ISIS—or simply the Islamic State, as it calls itself—whose fighters stormed across the Syrian border into Iraq in June and seized the country’s second-biggest city, Mosul, before moving on to the outskirts of Baghdad. Now ISIS, an outgrowth of the U.S. military’s deadly Sunni foes in Iraq a decade ago, is the tycoon of the jihadi world. Having taken over oilfields in war-torn northeastern Syria last year and reportedly earned tens of millions selling antiquities, it landed a giant infusion of cash by seizing about $425 million from a Mosul bank.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But ISIS’s real upside lies in exploiting one precious commodity: oil. The group nabbed three more fields in Iraq, tapping into pipelines and looting oil storage facilities in its new territory. Then it filled trucks and sold crude for the cut-rate price of $26 a barrel to Iraqi traders, who resold it to Kurdish smugglers at a 100% markup. ISIS quickly developed its smugglers’ network—to which it now sells about 100 truckfuls of oil daily for around $9,000 each—netting nearly $1 million a day, according to truckers and officials who detailed the bonanza to the industry newsletter <span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Iraq Oil Report</span>. Not bad for a group with just about 10,000 fighters. Said one Kurdish intelligence officer: “This is a very profitable business.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ISIS’s business seems secure for now. Since Iraq (OPEC’s second-biggest producer) still pumps nearly 3 million barrels a day in the country’s south, hundreds of miles from ISIS turf, the Baghdad government is likely to do little on its own to stop the group’s illicit oil trading. Iraq has appealed for outside military assistance to crush the ISIS insurgency. But meanwhile ISIS’s profits ensure that many people, even Iraqi soldiers, are benefiting. “Everyone is making money out of thi,” Shwan Zulal, managing director of London-based Carduchi Consulting, tells <span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Fortune</span>. “They’re selling oil very cheaply, so there is a lot of incentive for traders to buy, “ he says. “And once it’s in a truck it’s very difficult to track it, and you can make it to the international market very easily.” So far it’s been enough to keep this startup terrorist group’s cash flowing.</span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This story is from the August 11, 2014 issue of Fortune.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Source: <a href="http://fortune.com/2014/07/24/isis-guns-oil/">http://fortune.com/2014/07/24/isis-guns-oil/</a></i></span></div>
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Emin Emrah Danışhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878307382776681577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-890939228743160484.post-18707806685283499532014-04-08T11:48:00.002+04:302014-04-08T11:48:47.911+04:30Gazprom Neft CEO Says Company Could Look East If Sanctions Hit<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b>Reuters</b><br />
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Gazprom Neft , the oil arm of Russia's Gazprom, has not been hurt by Western sanctions over Russia's annexation of Crimea but will move away from dollars in its contracts, and redirect oil flows to Asia, if needed.<br />
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The company is the first in Russia's oil sector to say it could potentially move away from dollar-based contracts in response to Western sanctions and marks the planning going on in Russian industry to anticipate possible further measures.<br />
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But CEO Alexander Dyukov said Western banks were unlikely to stop cooperating with Gazprom Neft and that Western oil majors did not want geopolitical tension to affect their partnerships.<br />
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He told reporters the company would step up contacts with Asian lenders and raise money in Russia if borrowing costs rose further in reaction to the sanctions, visa bans and asset freezes which the West imposed on allies of President Vladimir Putin.<br />
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"As for sanctions, they have not affected the company's business in any way," Dyukov told reporters at a regularly scheduled briefing in Russia's second city of St. Petersburg, where Gazprom Neft is based.<br />
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He suggested Western companies did not want broader sanctions imposed on Russia, but Gazprom Neft would reduce its reliance on the dollar if the West shuts its doors.<br />
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"Of course, I have had meetings, contacts with representatives of Western business circles ... In principle, they are not interested in escalation of tensions," Dyukov said.<br />
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Gazprom Neft is exploring for unconventional oil such as that held in shale deposits - a possible source of future oil output growth in Russia - in western Siberia with Royal Dutch Shell.<br />
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With the United States seeking to punish Putin for the annexation of Crimea and deter him from seeking control over any more Ukrainian territory, he said the company had broached the idea of dropping the dollar, traditionally the currency of choice for the global energy sector.<br />
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"No such task has been set (by the government)," he said. "But ... we have discussed with our buyers the possibility of switching contracts to euros and ... 95 percent said they are ready."<br />
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As part of measures to try to increase the economy's independence from international forces, Russia has speeded up the development of a domestic payments system and has urged companies to increase the share of rouble payments in contracts with foreign partners.<br />
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With the Kremlin keen to foster closer Asia ties, Rosneft , Russia's biggest oil producer, was the first state-owned company to take the cue. Its CEO, Igor Sechin, did an Asian tour last month to boost cooperation.<br />
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Russia plans to double its oil flows to Asia over the next 20 years to some 32 percent of total oil exports via the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline and its spur to China. Both routes need expansion to ship additional volumes.<br />
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But some analysts say Russian energy companies need partnerships with Western companies for help with the know-how and financing to extract unconventional or "hard to reach" oil and gas.<br />
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Rosneft said last week its cooperation with ExxonMobil on a planned liquefied natural gas plant in Russia's far east was not affected by the sanctions.<br />
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Dyukov said Gazprom Neft could turn eastward and redirect some of the 5 million tonnes of oil that it ships to Europe annually. "This amount can be quite easily redirected to eastern markets. The situation with oil products is the same," he said.<br />
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He said Western banks were unlikely to stop cooperation with Gazprom Neft, which regularly raises cash abroad. "But in any case we have paved a way to Asian lenders as well ... plus there is a domestic market," Dyukov aid.<br />
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He said Gazprom Neft, Russia's fourth-largest oil company by output, is ready to withstand a spike in borrowing costs to continue developing the Bazhenov unconventional oil formation in western Siberia.<br />
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Gazprom Neft also plans to start commercial oil production at its Badra field in Iraq in May and to ship the first cargo with oil from Prirazlomnoye, Russia's first offshore field in the Arctic, in the second half of April, he said. </div>
Emin Emrah Danışhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878307382776681577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-890939228743160484.post-27341178764971354142014-03-26T19:27:00.002+04:302014-03-26T19:27:53.520+04:30Asian Buyers Say Prices, Demand To Trump Politics As Lure For U.S. LNG<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Asian natural gas buyers are counting on higher prices and growing demand to lure most North American gas shipments their way, even as U.S. lawmakers consider speeding up export approvals to cut Europe's dependence on Russia for the fuel.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Russia's seizure of Crimea from Ukraine has revived European worries about energy supply security. EU leaders are eager to end decades of reliance on Russian gas, and later on Wednesday will press the United States for clear commitments on a new source of supply.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">U.S. lawmakers are already weighing changes to energy policy that would allow natural gas exports to any country that belongs to the World Trade Organization, and a key senator said on Tuesday that U.S. shale gas should be used to counter Russian influence in Europe.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Asian buyers, who have been counting on the fresh supply source to meet rising demand, said that Europe's option of increasing imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) at the expense of Russian piped gas is a long-term, costly solution that may never happen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"That is not going to happen overnight. You have to build up receiving terminals, which will take millions in investments and five or maybe ten years," chairman of Taiwan's CPC, Sheng-Chung Lin told Reuters at a gas conference in South Korea.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"Unless European countries show such determination, it won't happen," Lin said.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The discussions on supply come before the United States has shipped even one cargo of LNG. Exports are scheduled to begin next year and slowly ramp up toward the end of the decade to around 50 million tonnes a year, making it the world's third largest shipper behind Australia and Qatar.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Any impact of U.S. LNG exports to Europe would be "relatively minor on the scale of the global gas market", said Maarten Wetselaar, executive vice president of the integrated gas division at Royal Dutch Shell's, one of the world's biggest producers of LNG.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"I wouldn't expect them to disrupt any of the short-term, medium-term flows going around Asia," Wetselaar said.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>PRICE AN ISSUE</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">EU officials earlier this month called for clear text that would guarantee U.S. gas exports under the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Asian gas prices, however, are around 50 percent higher than in Europe, and exports to EU countries at current U.S. market values - adding in costs to super-chill the fuel and ship it - push the price of U.S. LNG cargoes above European spot levels.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"Southern European markets would need to compete with Asia and Latin America for these additional LNG cargoes. This would push spot prices in some southern European markets higher - to levels equivalent to Asia," said Noel Tomnay, Head of Global Gas Research at Wood Mackenzie.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Russian state gas company Gazprom recently moved to defend its position in Europe and Ukraine, including from potential U.S. shipments, by cutting prices for most of its customers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"I cannot see how those U.S. cargoes will go to Europe unless European markets are willing to pay a higher price," said Ahmad Adly Alias, chief executive of Petronas LNG, a key supplier to North Asia. "Cargoes will go to where the value is."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Asian buyers, including China, India, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, currently take about 70 percent of global LNG exports.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>SUPPLY DISRUPTIONS</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Gazprom shut off gas to Europe in 2006 and 2009 during price wars with Kiev, and any similar disruption amidst the current crisis would tighten global LNG markets.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Last year, European countries began re-exporting LNG shipments bought under long term contracts, helping to ease tightness in Asia.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"If supplies to Ukraine are cut, which I really think is the big issue, then some of those cargoes may stay in Europe and not be redirected into Asia," said Peter Coleman, chief executive of Australia's Woodside Petroleum.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Europe gets about one-third of its gas from Russia with about half of that shipped via pipeline through Ukraine.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"We obviously have a difficult situation in Ukraine at the moment, but the markets have lived through a similar period of tension in the past," said Steve Ratcliffe, senior vice president of LNG coordination at Italy's ENI, one of Russia's biggest buyers of gas.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">According to energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie, a two-month disruption this spring to the Ukrainian transit route would result in southern Europe requiring less than two million tonnes of additional LNG.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Even the impact of a six-month disruption during the next winter would be limited to less than five million tonnes due to high European storage volumes, the consultancy says.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That's only about as much as the world's largest LNG buyer, Japan, took in December 2013, a peak winter month.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"I don't really believe there are going to be any major effects on European markets, and therefore on the global markets," ENI's Ratcliffe said. </span></div>
Emin Emrah Danışhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878307382776681577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-890939228743160484.post-41482546910044161432014-03-26T17:32:00.002+04:302014-03-26T17:32:16.007+04:30UK To Start Buying Gas From Russia Despite Threats Of Sanctions Over Crimea<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
<span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; line-height: 16px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b></span></span>
<span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; line-height: 16px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Huffington Post UK </span></b></span></span><br />
<span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><b style="background-color: white; border: 0px; line-height: 16px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Britain
is set to start buying gas directly from Russia this year despite EU
politicians threatening to bring in further sanctions against Moscow
amid tensions over the crisis in Ukraine.</span></span><br />
<span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Centrica,
the UK's largest energy firm that owns British Gas, will start
importing Russian gas directly from this October in a deal signed back
in 2012, Reuters reported.</span></span><br />
<span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Centrica's
plan is still on track, despite diplomatic tensions over Ukraine
pushing EU politicians to consider energy sources that make them less
reliant on Russia.</span></span><br />
<span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">David
Cameron recently warned that sanctions could hit Russian oligarchs like
Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich and tensions have seen
Russian spending at UK shops plummet.</span></span><br />
<span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">UK
domestic gas production is falling by around 7% annually. The UK has so
far not imported gas directly from Russia, as Russian supplies come to
Britain through Germany and other European pipelines.</span></span><br />
<span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In
2012, Britain produced nearly half of the 91 billion cubic meters of
gas it used domestically, with 29% coming from Norway, around 7% from
the Netherlands, 3% from Belgium and nearly 15% from Qatar.</span></span><br />
<span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tory
politicians have been bullish about how the UK could cope if further
sanctions are brought against Moscow. </span></span><br />
<span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Conservative MP Brooks Newmark, a
member of parliament’s influential Treasury Select Committee, told
HuffPostUK: "We can economically hurt Putin and his cronies as well, we
can put a huge amount of economic pressure on them. They have enormous
business interests in the UK and bank accounts here, too."</span></span><br />
<span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"Russia
recognises that they are no longer one of the great global powers
anymore so the only way they can reassert themselves domestically is by
going into countries like Georgia and Ukraine."</span></span><br />
<span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Russia's
state-run energy giant Gazprom sells between 11 billion and 12 billion
cubic metres of gas to the UK, which fulfills around 15% of the
country's total need, as well as providing around a third of Europe's
demand for gas.</span></span><br />
<span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span data-mce-style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Source: <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/03/25/uk-gas-russia-ukraine_n_5026247.html?utm_hp_ref=uk">http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/03/25/uk-gas-russia-ukraine_n_5026247.html?utm_hp_ref=uk</a></i></span></span></div>
Emin Emrah Danışhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878307382776681577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-890939228743160484.post-11542448056853293452014-03-25T19:51:00.001+04:302014-03-25T19:51:36.989+04:30East Mediterranean Eyes EU And Global LNG Markets For Gas Sales<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Reuters</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Europe's efforts to reduce its reliance on Russian energy supplies and booming demand for shipped gas are pushing ahead the development of the East Mediterranean's gas reserves, which have so far been marred by the region's instability.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Israel and Cyprus are both well placed to help diversify Europe's Russian-dominated market by pipeline, while sending liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers to the world's best paying customers in Asia and Latin America.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Russia's seizure of Ukraine's Crimea region has shaken political relations between Russia and the European Union, and Brussels is stepping up efforts to find new suppliers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"With recent events in Europe... and the aspiration of different countries to diversify their gas supply, that puts another spotlight on our massive resources and transforms our story into a global one," said Gideon Tadmor, CEO of Avner Oil , a leading explorer in the region, at a conference in Tel Aviv on Tuesday.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Almost one trillion cubic metres of recoverable natural gas has already been discovered in the eastern Mediterranean Levant Basin, enough to supply Europe with gas for over two years and worth between $370-$740 billion in current European or Asian market terms respectively.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Israel, which has so far found over 80 percent of all the gas, has said it would allow 40 percent of its reserves to be exported, while Cyprus will sell almost all of its gas abroad.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"We see Leviathan (Israel's biggest gas field) as... supplying not only domestic Israeli needs but also regional needs through... pipelines, and then a second phase that will likely be LNG exports," said Charles Davidson, Chairman and CEO of U.S.-based Noble Energy, another of the partners in developing the region's gas.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"There are many challenges, mainly political ones, but... when the economic benefits are overwhelming, those challenges will be overcome," Gideon Tadmor said, referring to historical conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbours as well as between Turkey and Cyprus.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Israel took a big step to becoming a natural gas exporter in February when Australia's Woodside Petroleum, a leading player in the LNG sector, signed a deal to take a 25 percent stake in the Leviathan gas field.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This week, Greece launched a tender to study the possibility of a pipeline to carry gas from Israel and Cyprus in an effort to reduce dependence on Russian supplies.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And last week it emerged that Italian utility Edison is in talks to buy two Israeli gas fields from Noble Energy and Israel's Delek Drilling.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>WANTED: NEW GAS</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The region's key advantage is its location that will allow it to supply Europe, the world's biggest integrated gas region, with pipeline gas, generating steady and healthy revenues.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At the same time, its proximity to the Suez Canal would allow the region to arbitrage the world's highest paying LNG markets in Asia and Latin America.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For Europe, whose own output is falling, East Mediterranean gas has become a key target to secure future supplies and help the region to reduce its reliance on Russia.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Yet so far the EU has struggled to access large new reserves that could replace Russia, which supplies around a third of Europe's demand and has plans to cement its dominant position by building the massive South Stream pipeline to southern Europe.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Alternative suppliers like Azerbaijan do not hold enough reserves to act as a major alternative to Russia while others, such as Algeria and Libya, are struggling to keep up export quotas and are politically unstable.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hopes of large-scale U.S. LNG exports to Europe could also fall flat as Asia, which pays around twice as much for LNG cargoes as European buyers, remains a more attractive market to sell to than Europe.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Both Israel and Cyprus have said they would be keen to supply Europe's markets through a pipeline, and with Cyprus the EU would gain a new and internal supply source.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A pipeline to Europe would guarantee access to, and revenue from, the world's biggest gas market with its annual consumption of around 500 billion cubic metres.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At the same time, an LNG terminal would allow selling cargoes flexibly across the globe, wherever prices are highest.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Should the East Mediterranean become both a large pipeline and an LNG supplier, it would put it into a small group of producers in such a situation, most notably Norway which supplies northwest Europe via pipelines and is also a global LNG shipper.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Algeria is also a large exporter of both pipeline gas and LNG, but it is struggling with falling output, prompting its main buyers, Italy and Spain, to look elsewhere for alternatives, including the East Mediterranean.</span></div>
Emin Emrah Danışhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878307382776681577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-890939228743160484.post-22563777888849550282014-03-25T19:45:00.000+04:302014-03-25T19:45:31.578+04:30U.S. Lawmakers To Weigh Speeding Up LNG Exports To Help Europe, Ukraine<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br /></div>
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Reuters</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">U.S. lawmakers will hear testimony on Tuesday from those who favor loosening restrictions on liquefied natural gas exports so that abundant American supplies could help reduce Ukraine and Europe's dependence on Russian gas.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">European worries about the security of energy supplies have grown since Russian forces seized control of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine this month. Moscow has in years past cut gas supplies amid regional disputes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Currently, the U.S. Department of Energy must give permission to export natural gas to all but a handful of countries with free trade agreements with the United States.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Opponents of unlimited gas exports have argued that shipping too much natural gas abroad could cause U.S. prices to rise, hampering the economy's ability to recover from the recent recession.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hearings before the House and Senate energy committees come on the heels of the Energy Department's sixth approval of LNG exports from a U.S. plant in the past 10 months.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"While our government does not dictate where that supply will go, it does control how fast we will connect to the global market," David Goldwyn, a senior fellow at Brookings Institution, will tell lawmakers at a Senate Energy Committee hearing slated for 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) on Tuesday.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This will be Senator Mary Landrieu's first hearing as chairwoman of the Energy Committee. The Louisiana Democrat has pressed to streamline review of the 24 applications in the queue.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A vocal coalition of industrial companies, led by Dow Chemical Co, has disputed claims that speeding up the Energy Department approvals would help Ukraine or other allies as substantial U.S. gas exports remain years away.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>ELIMINATING DOE'S REVIEW</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One solution is legislation that the House Energy Committee will consider on Tuesday afternoon to allow U.S. natural gas exports to any country that is a member of the World Trade Organization without government approval.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">While the administration has not officially taken a position on the measure, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oil and Natural Gas Paula Gant will tell lawmakers the bill would essentially eliminate the need for Energy Department review of applications.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The WTO encompasses 159 nations, including every country that has expressed interest in LNG imports, Gant said in prepared testimony.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Instead exporting natural gas, the United States should look to export drilling technology that would allow countries such as Ukraine to tap their own shale gas reserves, Dave Schryver, the executive vice president of the American Public Gas Association will tell lawmakers at the House hearing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"There is certainly no good reason why the U.S. should undertake a domestic LNG export policy that has numerous downsides for the American gas consumers when many of the very countries we are seeking to help are capable of helping themselves by accessing their own domestic shale gas reserves," Schryver said.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">APGA, which is a part of Dow's coalition, is opposed to all U.S. LNG exports, which it says will increase the price of U.S. natural gas. </span></div>
Emin Emrah Danışhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878307382776681577noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-890939228743160484.post-69208602768221287352014-03-25T19:00:00.002+04:302014-03-25T19:00:27.515+04:30Turkey ‘earns $12 billion’ from Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) Pipeline<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) has earned $12 billion from the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) crude oil pipeline since 2005, when oil from Baku was first pumped, Turkish Minister of Energy Taner Yıldız has said.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">During his speech in the southern province of Adana, Yıldız underlined the importance of the BTC pipeline for the region and trade volume created for the country.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">He stated the TPAO has 6.5 percent of the shares in the BTC crude oil pipeline. British Petroleum (BP) and State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) hold the majority of the shares in the BTC pipeline, with 30 percent and 20 percent respectively. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The pipeline has transported more than 1.8 billion barrels of crude oil to date.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Nearly 3 percent of the world’s oil trade is flowing along the BTC and Kirkuk-Yumurtalık crude oil pipelines through Turkey. The BTC pipeline has been transporting Azeri oil from the Caspian Sea to the Ceyhan Port of Turkey through the Georgian capital of Tblisi. The oil is then exported to European markets via the Mediterranean Sea.</span></div>
Emin Emrah Danışhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878307382776681577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-890939228743160484.post-5960566492087725912014-03-24T19:51:00.001+04:302014-03-24T19:51:59.373+04:30Turkey on the frontline of Iraq's Kurdish oil row<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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A move by Iraq’s Kurdish Regional Government to export 100,000 barrels of oil per day through Turkey is a tactical move brought about by U.S. pressure which could change after April 30 elections in Iraq, experts have told Anadolu Agency.</div>
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Baghdad has been opposed to the export of stored Kurdish oil from Turkey's south-eastern port of Ceyhan on the accusation that it violates Iraq’s constitution as it would bypass the country’s national oil company, SOMO.</div>
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Currently, 1.5 million barrels of oil are sitting in Ceyhan -- which has a total of storage capacity of 2.5 million -- and are awaiting Baghdad's approval to be exported. </div>
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The KRG has been embroiled in a long-running row with the central government in Iraq over a proposed 17 percent share from oil revenues. The dispute has lead to political boycotts by Kurdish MPs over Iraq’s draft budget with the KRG refusing to withdraw demands, claiming it could never receive its fair share of oil wealth. </div>
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Talks between Irbil and Baghdad have so far failed to find a solution. </div>
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However, in a sudden move, following a phone call on Thursday between KRG President Masoud Barzani and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, Kurdish authorities revealed that they would accept the export of 100,000 barrels of oil per day through SOMO from April 1 as a "gesture of goodwill" while negotiations for a permanent deal with Baghdad continued. </div>
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Now Turkish, Kurdish and American experts have given AA their analysis on the dispute’s likely outcome.</div>
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Ali Semin, from the Istanbul-based think-tank BILGESAM, said the decision was a result of intensified mediation last week by Biden and U.S. ambassador in Baghdad, Stephen Beecroft. </div>
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"The United States aims to see Kurdish oil revenue being collected in an American bank instead of a Turkish one," Samin said.</div>
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Turkey sought to use state-owned lender Halkbank to deposit revenues from northern Iraqi oil exports, while Baghdad wanted the revenue to go to its existing account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The recent KRG decision means that SOMO will manage the exports, which by extension means that the revenue will go to the U.S. bank. There will be a Kurdish sub-bank account into which the KRG’s share of revenues will be automatically deposited.</div>
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According to Semin, another strong reason behind the KRG's coming to terms with Baghdad was over Turkey's persistent position of not exporting the stored oil without Baghdad's approval. </div>
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"Please note that the decision also came after KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani's visit to Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan in Ankara on March 16," he emphasized.</div>
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Semin said the decision should be seen as an accommodating move to ease the likely tense atmosphere in Iraq following the country’s April 30 general election. </div>
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When asked for his prediction on a permanent solution to the oil issue and possible repercussions for the agreement with Turkey, Semin said the only solution would be the export of Kurdish oil via SOMO but to raise KRG's 17 percent share to a more satisfying level.</div>
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"This way is also beneficial for Turkey, because it saves itself from being dragged into Iraq’s internal issues," Semin said, adding: "The KRG has no other country to seek support [from] in the region, but Turkey."</div>
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<b>Turkey-KRG oil deal might resurface after both countries' elections</b></div>
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Kurdish oil expert and head of consulting at London-based Carduchi Consulting, Shwan Zulal, also noted that the reason behind the KRG's decision was U.S. pressure as Brett McGurk, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for Iraq, was also in the Kurdistan region recently.</div>
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"But the foundation of the deal is shaky and it is hard to imagine that it will last, given this has been agreed in the past with Baghdad and all fell apart again," Zulal cautioned. </div>
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Since 2009, the KRG has sought to sell its oil several times via SOMO but Baghdad has obstructed the Kurdish authorities in many ways. In 2010, Baghdad and Irbil agreed on 19 issues to allow current Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki a second term in power. These included resolving the oil issue with legislation in a way to enable Kurds to sell their product and receive a regular 17 percent share from Baghdad. However, this agreement was never fully implemented.</div>
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When asked about how Turkey could be impacted by the new KRG move, Zulal said Ankara will not be affected negatively and will receive payment in the form of transit fees.</div>
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He added that if Prime Minister Erdogan's government sustains its decisiveness on the deal following March 30 elections, the November 2013 KRG-Turkey agreement might again be on the table.</div>
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Dr. David Romano, associate professor at Missouri State University’s political science department, who is also a columnist on the Kurdish region’s Rudaw newspaper, said this interim agreement reflects budgetary pressure exerted by the Maliki government on the KRG.</div>
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Iraq failed to approve its 2014 budget due to a political boycott by 57 Kurdish deputies after the KRG’s 17% share was not included. </div>
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Romano said Maliki will present it as a victory to his constituents, which is important ahead of the upcoming election.</div>
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"The Kurds, on the other hand, are probably calculating that they can wrest recognition of their own full control of their hydrocarbons from Baghdad when Maliki will not need to look so tough to his voters, but will likely need Kurdish support to form a new government," noted Romano.</div>
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After the election, the KRG will undoubtedly intend to drive a hard bargain aimed at securing immediate gains, rather than the vague promises Maliki offered them in 2010.</div>
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About the likelihood of the success of the new deal, Romano said the sub-account into which the KRG would receive its share of oil revenue would still be vulnerable to Baghdad not making the deposits as automatically as it promises.</div>
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"It also remains unclear whether or not the operating expenses and revenue share of the international oil companies [IOCs] producing in Kurdistan region will be included in the share that is deposited in the sub-account," said Romano, noting that this has been a major sticking point in the past.</div>
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Nevertheless, said Romano, the KRG can also claim a victory of sorts: "if one thinks back to just a few years ago even the contracts they signed with IOCs were contested by Baghdad.</div>
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"Today if Baghdad continues to accept the oil they produce, it implicitly accepts the legitimacy of those contracts," adding that the issue today is about the control of exports and bank accounts rather than the contracts, which is a major change really." </div>
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About the Turkey-KRG deal, Romano said: "With an interim, temporary agreement, I imagine the deals will go forward in an interim, temporary manner.</div>
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“The more Turkey gets used to receiving KRG oil, of course, the more likely it will be willing to receive it independently of Baghdad's consent should it come to that one day."</div>
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Emin Emrah Danışhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878307382776681577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-890939228743160484.post-76806396085914226242014-03-24T18:03:00.001+04:302014-03-24T18:03:18.538+04:3010 bids for Leviathan export tender to Turkey<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuGIr6lJyaaUHu2eziwlUFdYO2ofSs0X8lYtFAIkIDDyphwZqO5kwMumJE85mnAR7CJacIBpwYXYB2pljyAew8x9EXxPq4OYtjSmyAh0r-Z_2rtOIkjllQmSlKOr2VM6L0CHKorKyAWEc/s1600/Turkey+-+israel+pipeline+map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuGIr6lJyaaUHu2eziwlUFdYO2ofSs0X8lYtFAIkIDDyphwZqO5kwMumJE85mnAR7CJacIBpwYXYB2pljyAew8x9EXxPq4OYtjSmyAh0r-Z_2rtOIkjllQmSlKOr2VM6L0CHKorKyAWEc/s1600/Turkey+-+israel+pipeline+map.jpg" height="290" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Globes Amiram Barkat</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-language: TR;">Bidders include Zorlu Group and a joint bid by Turcas Petrol AS and German
electricity utility RWE.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-language: TR;">More than ten bids were
submitted in the tender by the partners in Leviathan for the export of natural
gas to Turkey. The bids for the purchase of natural gas ranged from 7 billion
cubic meters (BCM) a year to 10 BCM, amounts that could generate $22-31 billion
revenue, assuming a 15-year gas supply contract at $6 per million British
Thermal Units (mmBTU), the price of natural gas in Israel's domestic market.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-language: TR;">Sources inform ''Globes''
that the bidders in the tender include Zorlu Group, which has stakes in independent
power producers in Israel, and a joint bid by Turcas Petrol AS and German
electricity utility RWE AG.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-language: TR;">Noble Energy Inc. owns
39.66% of Leviathan, Delek Group Ltd. units Avner Oil and Gas LP and Delek
Drilling LP each own 22.67% and Ratio Oil Exploration (1992) LP owns 15%.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-language: TR;">In January,
"Globes" reported that the partners in Leviathan had invited several
dozen Turkish companies to bid in a gas supply contract from the gas field. The
deal would include laying a pipeline to Turkey from Leviathan's proposed
floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) ship, which deliver gas to
Israeli and regional customers. The price in the bids is the purchase price of
the gas from the FPSO. In addition to this price, the bids will be evaluated on
the basis of their commercial terms, including the take or pay condition and
the capacity of the gas purchased.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-language: TR;">Some of the bidders are
willing to build the pipeline themselves, while others prefer working in
partnership with the Leviathan partners. After reviewing the bids in the coming
weeks, the partners will hold separate negotiations with the finalists for
signing a gas purchase contract.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-language: TR;"><i>Source: <a href="http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-10-bids-for-leviathan-export-tender-to-turkey-1000926526">http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-10-bids-for-leviathan-export-tender-to-turkey-1000926526</a></i></span></div>
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Emin Emrah Danışhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878307382776681577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-890939228743160484.post-63810894850854615962014-03-20T13:50:00.000+03:302014-03-20T13:50:00.492+03:30Europe to find it difficult to wean itself off Russian gas<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b>AFP</b><br />
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Europe will have trouble weaning itself off Russian natural gas,
analysts say, as its faces declining production at home and Asian
competition for supplies.<br />
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Even before the current flare up
of tensions with Russia over its de facto occupation and possible
annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula, Europe has been trying to
reduce its dependence on Russian supplies.</div>
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The
diversification effort has been bearing fruit: imports of Russian
natural gas fell from 45.1 percent of the EU's total to 31.9 percent
over a decade to 2012, according to data from the EU's statistics
agency, Eurostat.</div>
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"Europe has
reduced somewhat its dependence on Russian gas, even if Gazprom remains a
key actor in Europe," said Pascale Jean, a natural gas specialist at
PriceWaterhouseCoopers. </div>
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However
the Russian gas giant Gazprom has made no secret it aims to claw back
its market share, having built a new pipeline to Germany and a second
one under construction to southern Europe.</div>
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The
share of Russian gas in European imports climbed last year, and its
share in total consumption has remained relatively stable over the past
decade at just under a quarter.</div>
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However, EU production which
currently covers a third of consumption, is expected to fall by up to 20
percent by 2020 and up to 30 percent by 2030.</div>
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"It
is likely that the share of Russian natural gas in Europe will increase
further in the coming years, whether we like it, or not," said Tim
Boersna, an energy specialist and Brookings Institute in Washington.</div>
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British
North Sea output has already begun to fall and that of the Netherland's
is also expected to do so soon. Production in nearby suppliers like
Algeria is also on the decline.</div>
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<b>Russia fills supply gap</b></div>
<br />
Boersna said "the market will increasingly dictate that Russian natural gas supplies will fill this supply gap."<br />
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1430">
The European gas market finds
itself today at a crossroads following two unexpected events which have
shaken up the energy market: the US shale gas boom and the Fukushima
nuclear disaster.</div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1430">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1428">
With Japan
shutting down all its nuclear reactors, Asia's already rising demand for
natural gas has jumped, particularly for liquefied natural gas (LNG).</div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1428">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1438">
This
has caught the attention of gas producers, in particular the Qataris,
who have shifted attention from Europe to a fast-growing and more
lucrative Asian market.</div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1438">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1362">
The
terrorist attack on an Algerian gas plant last year and frequent stops
in shipments via the Libyan-Italy pipeline has cast a shadow over North
African supplies.</div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1362">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1440">
"Given the
absence of a significant build-up of North African gas exports and the
late emergence of additional exports from Azerbaijan, it comes down to a
competition between Russia and LNG producers," the International Energy
Agency said in its latest report on the medium-term outlook for gas
markets.</div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1440">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1442">
"Luckily for Russia, the thirst
for LNG in Asia means that additional LNG supply is largely absorbed by
the Pacific basin, leaving little incremental LNG supply available to
Europe."</div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1442">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1442">
The EU has long looked to tap into Caspian Sea gas supplies, but progress has been slow.</div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1442">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1364">
The
construction of a "southern corridor" pipeline that skirts around
Russia was a major EU policy initiative, and while the project is
advancing, Gazprom will beat it with the South Stream competing pipeline
that is due to come online next year.</div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1364">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1411">
Norway,
which hopes to stem or maybe even temporarily reverse its slide in
production, could benefit from renewed EU efforts to diversify supplies.</div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1411">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1366">
Having briefly become the EU's top gas supplier in 2012, analysts say Norway could expand its market share by several points.</div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1366">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1456">
Recent discoveries of gas
supplies in the eastern Mediterranean off Cyprus and Israel have also
fueled European diversification hopes.</div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1456">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1458">
<b>Look West</b></div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1458">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1460">
Such
hopes are increasingly turning to the other side of the Atlantic, where
the shale gas boom has turned the United States into the world's number
one producer.</div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1460">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1385">
Many European
countries have refused to allow shale gas exploration or production due
to environmental concerns over the "fracking" techniques used to recover
deposits. Others have failed to find commercially exploitable deposits.
</div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1385">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1383">
However plans to export US
shale gas are multiplying, even if only one LNG facility is currently
under construction. Four others are in a relatively advanced state in
the permit process.</div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1383">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1373">
"US LNG is
set to become the world's primary swing and emergency supplier in times
of crisis, which will be particularly helpful for European buyers,"
said Eurasia analyst Will Pearson.</div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1373">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1381">
The
first US LNG supplies won't arrive until 2016 at the earliest, however,
and Asia will undoubtedly buy up a significant portion.</div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1381">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1464">
"Another point to keep in mind is that the ramp-up of US LNG exports will be slow and incremental," he said.</div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1464">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1462">
Europe
has already been benefitting from cheap US coal, however. Cut rate gas
prices in the US has displaced coal, but shipped to Europe, the coal is
still cheaper than natural gas for electicity generators.</div>
<div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1395300704346_1462">
<br /></div>
</div>
Emin Emrah Danışhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878307382776681577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-890939228743160484.post-14335920601728125082014-03-20T13:16:00.000+03:302014-03-20T13:16:26.912+03:30Gazprom Proposes Oil And Gas Development In Crimea<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5qDLJqPqhyphenhyphen_eqZhfhSlt79mHl7jmu-LaZIc7BpDDFnTFfBkKsIodvJigIKH-pP-gGD5JEfztx8tF2JJ9hs-_TEaAIN3jBovnzbjK5D2reiP5S5vy4z98tVLoywi6ZIijm7jBOwqB4VKc/s1600/Gazprom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5qDLJqPqhyphenhyphen_eqZhfhSlt79mHl7jmu-LaZIc7BpDDFnTFfBkKsIodvJigIKH-pP-gGD5JEfztx8tF2JJ9hs-_TEaAIN3jBovnzbjK5D2reiP5S5vy4z98tVLoywi6ZIijm7jBOwqB4VKc/s1600/Gazprom.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>Reuters</b><br />
<br />
Russian state-owned energy company Gazprom has proposed to develop Crimea's oil and gas sector, an official of the Ukrainian region which has applied to join Russia was quoted by RIA news agency as saying on Tuesday.<br />
<br />
"Of course, Gazprom was the first to approach us (with a proposal)," said Rustam Temirgaliev, Crimea's first deputy prime minister.<br />
<br />
He was asked if the Ukrainian region, which declared its independence and applied to join Russia following a weekend referendum, had received proposals from Russian companies to develop its oil and gas industry.<br />
<br />
A Gazprom spokesman declined comments.<br />
<br />
Last week, Temirgaliev said that the local authorities may sell the energy firm Chornomornaftohaz to a Russian company "such as Gazprom" once the region takes control the firm, which is now part of a Ukrainian state energy company.<br />
<br />
A Moscow-backed referendum in Crimea on Sunday showed overwhelming support for joining the Russian Federation.</div>
Emin Emrah Danışhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878307382776681577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-890939228743160484.post-11849000814404440902014-03-20T13:10:00.000+03:302014-03-20T13:10:35.102+03:30European leaders seek ways to curb dependence on Russian gas<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF_bvoysJ7n2sDI7UUkRIHQ9LqLtQKCisTQ9EqVPWBqRYH0v7J6Z5PU-UL5KhC4eivaeJ9cAK_AB8NLTJo1RaeQcT8SPZ_aV06USQywUi1Nl0-BfzD345t_vtit4V4PEou64vnjB6NzFg/s1600/RussiaUkraine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF_bvoysJ7n2sDI7UUkRIHQ9LqLtQKCisTQ9EqVPWBqRYH0v7J6Z5PU-UL5KhC4eivaeJ9cAK_AB8NLTJo1RaeQcT8SPZ_aV06USQywUi1Nl0-BfzD345t_vtit4V4PEou64vnjB6NzFg/s1600/RussiaUkraine.jpg" height="270" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Reuters</b><br />
<br />
European leaders will seek ways to
cut their multi-billion-dollar dependence on Russian gas at talks in
Brussels on Thursday and Friday, while stopping short of severing energy
ties with Moscow for now.<br />
<br />
Russia's
seizure of Ukraine's Crimea region has revived doubts about whether the
European Union should continue to rely on Russia for nearly a third of
its gas, providing Gazprom with an average of $5 billion per month in
revenue. Some 40 percent of that gas is shipped via Ukraine.<br />
<br />
EU
powerhouse Germany is among those with particularly close energy links
to Russia and has echoed comments from Gazprom, Russia's top natural gas
producer, that Russia has been a reliable supplier for decades.<br />
<br />
Russian
supplies of gas to the EU were disrupted in 2006 and 2009, but only
because of knock-on effects when Moscow cut off Ukraine for not paying
its bills. Although those incidents resulted in EU attempts to diversify
its energy sources, contracts to the bloc have always been honoured.<br />
<br />
EU
officials said the current Ukraine crisis, however, had convinced many
in Europe that Russia was no longer reliable and the political will to
end its supply dominance had never been greater.<br />
<br />
"Everyone
recognises a major change of pace is needed on the part of the European
Union," one EU official said on condition of anonymity.<br />
<br />
"At
the back of people's minds, there will always be the doubt that if the
relationship goes sour, Russia has that weapon and it's not something it
should have," another official said, referring to Russia's option of
severing supplies.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
A draft
document prepared ahead of the summit calls on the European Commission,
the EU executive, to present by June a comprehensive plan to reduce EU
energy dependence.<br />
<br />
As
alternatives to imported gas, the Brussels talks will debate the EU's
"indigenous supplies", which include renewable energy and shale gas.<br />
<br />
They
will also underline the need for energy efficiency and to build better
cross-border links to share resources, control costs and develop EU
capacity to pump gas to Ukraine should it need help.<br />
<br />
A
British discussion paper, circulated among member states, lists a range
of options, including intensifying talks on the export of Iraqi gas via
pipeline to Europe and examining how to "facilitate" gas exports from
the United States as part of trade talks with the EU.<br />
<br />
EU
officials said they expected the issue to be raised during U.S.
President Barack Obama's visit to Brussels next week, although analysts
caution that any U.S. gas exported would be more likely to head to Asia
rather than Europe because prices there are higher.<br />
<br />
<strong><span data-mce-style="font-size: small;">Forty-year bond</span></strong><br />
Keen
to underline its continued relevance, Gazprom last week issued a
statement to mark the 40th anniversary of supplying Russian gas to
Germany under long-term contracts to utility E.ON . Russian gas is sent
directly to Germany via the Nord Stream pipeline, specifically built to
bypass Ukraine.<br />
<br />
E.ON is
among the utilities whose business models have been shaken by an EU
shift to green energy. The company says the grid needs gas-fired
generation to balance intermittent solar and wind.<br />
<br />
One of the many questions is the extent to which indigenous shale gas can replace imports.<br />
<br />
The
signs so far are that public opposition and Europe's different geology
mean it cannot match the United States' shale gas revolution, which has
lowered energy costs there. Even in the oil and gas industry, many are
cautious about the prospects for EU shale gas.<br />
<br />
That
leaves EU industry smarting at what it sees as a competitive
disadvantage, when the Ukraine crisis is likely to inflate energy prices
further. It is seeking help for energy-intensive industry to manage
costs, which it says have been driven up by subsidies to increase the
share of green energy.<br />
<br />
The
renewables lobby says the real driver of energy costs is imported fossil
fuels, on which Europe spends more than 400 billion euros ($557
billion) per year.<br />
<br />
"The EU
is criticising Russia's invasion of Crimea while pouring money into
Russian coffers for gas imports," said Thomas Becker, CEO of the
European Wind Energy Association, which is calling for a tougher goal on
use of renewable energy.<br />
<br />
But
as coal-dependent Poland for one opposes an early agreement on 2030
climate and energy policy, this week's talks are not expected to get
anywhere near a deal on that.<br />
<br />
EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said only that the talks should send "a strong signal".<br />
<br />
The
draft summit document says EU member states should aim to make a final
decision on the new policy framework "as quickly as possible and no
later than October 2014".<br />
<br />
That
will disappoint those who say a decision is urgently needed to drive
investment in low-carbon energy and to reduce fossil fuel imports, as
well as to settle the EU negotiating position ahead of a U.N. climate
change deal meant to be sealed late next year.<br />
<br />
So
far, the European Commission has suggested 2030 policy should include a
27 percent EU-wide goal for renewables as a proportion of energy use
and a 40 percent cut in carbon emissions versus 1990 levels.<br />
<br />
That
compares with an existing target to cut carbon by 20 percent by 2020,
which the European Union has almost achieved, as well as a goal, binding
on each member state, to get 20 percent of energy from renewables,
which is also within reach.</div>
Emin Emrah Danışhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878307382776681577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-890939228743160484.post-8912055024525126312014-03-05T19:02:00.000+03:302014-03-05T19:02:39.599+03:30Trans-Anatolia Gas Pipeline ‘to create15,000 jobs across Turkey’<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnLNJzzCEbmoriuj0jA_VyplHNDFY8IHJegWxrLggaWn-5p_txGMldPlxvbeV_oeLjYE5e8tb9QWaIeAAD-KuVGIjpvvFHnTyD6OQftvYjhyphenhyphen-8A-pwM5buuovwChGKkA1oG5ENoI72kgY/s1600/tanap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnLNJzzCEbmoriuj0jA_VyplHNDFY8IHJegWxrLggaWn-5p_txGMldPlxvbeV_oeLjYE5e8tb9QWaIeAAD-KuVGIjpvvFHnTyD6OQftvYjhyphenhyphen-8A-pwM5buuovwChGKkA1oG5ENoI72kgY/s1600/tanap.jpg" height="157" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>AA</b><br />
<br />
The Trans-Anatolia Gas Pipeline (TANAP), the gas pipeline project that will carry Azerbaijani natural gas to Europe through Turkey, will create 15,000 jobs in 20 provinces in Turkey, the energy minister has said.<br />
<br />
Speaking to reporters on Feb. 28, Energy Minister Taner Yıldız said the TANAP was slated to be carried into effect as of 2018 and would create employment in the cities it will pass through and for the domestic steel pipe makers that will take part in the project.<br />
<br />
Yıldız said the total amount of investment planned to be poured into the pipeline is around $45 billion, nearly $30 billion of which will be injected into construction at production sites over a four-year construction period, expected to be started in 2015.<br />
<br />
Local steel pipe makers, who have been struggling with tough trade conditions abroad, have pinned their hopes on the project.<br />
<br />
The Turkish part of the pipeline will require approximately 1,800 km and approximately 2 million tons of steel pipes. Six of the 18 steel pipe suppliers involved in the project are from Turkey.<br />
<br />
The TANAP is planned to carry 16 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz II field in the Caspian Sea, one of the world’s largest gas fields.<br />
<br />
“We have two hats in the TANAP pipeline: A carrier and a consumer,” Yıldız said.<br />
<br />
The energy-hungry Turkey will receive six bcm of natural gas, while 10 bcm, equal to about 1.5 percent of Europe’s total consumption, will flow to Europe.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Dependent on expensive energy imports, Turkey is trying to secure and diversify energy routes to keep its steadily growing economy moving forward.<br />
<br />
In his remarks, Yıldız also noted that Turkey wants to wrap up the talks aimed at increasing its 20 percent stake in the project to 30 percent by mid-April.<br />
<br />
Azeri energy giant Socar currently has an 80 percent interest and Turkey the remaining 20 percent, but British Petroleum (BP), one of the partners of the Shah Deniz II field, had also said it will buy 12 percent of shares from Socar. Yıldız said Turkey was currently in touch with BP over the issue.</div>
Emin Emrah Danışhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878307382776681577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-890939228743160484.post-83530697000778810552014-03-05T18:41:00.001+03:302014-03-05T18:41:41.628+03:30Iraq Oil Exports Hit 25-Year High In February<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><br /></b>
<b>AFP</b><br />
<br />
Iraq exported 2.8 million barrels of oil per day in February, a top minister said Saturday, a sharp month-on-month gain and the highest such figure in at least a quarter-century.<br />
<br />
Production, meanwhile, reached 3.5 million bpd, the deputy prime minister for energy affairs, Hussein al-Shahristani, told reporters in the southern port city of Basra as he inaugurated a refinery.<br />
<br />
"Production in February was 3.5 million barrels per day, and we exported 2.8 million barrels per day," he said.<br />
<br />
The export figure was the highest since then dictator Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990, triggering a crippling embargo and international sanctions that massively restricted Iraq's energy industry.<br />
<br />
In 2012, when average daily exports reached 2.5 million barrels per day, the oil ministry said it was the highest such figure since 1989.<br />
<br />
Shahristani said February output would have been significantly higher if not for energy disputes with the country's three-province autonomous Kurdish region.<br />
<br />
Most of Iraq's crude is exported via its southern terminals near Basra, but a significant portion goes through a northern pipeline that is periodically bombed by militants.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Iraq is heavily dependent on oil exports, and the government is seeking to dramatically ramp up sales to fund the reconstruction of its battered infrastructure.<br />
<br />
Officials aim to increase production capacity to nine million bpd by 2017, a target both the International Energy Agency and the International Monetary Fund have warned is overly optimistic.</div>
Emin Emrah Danışhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878307382776681577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-890939228743160484.post-55169021660224386322014-02-23T23:31:00.002+03:302014-02-24T00:01:34.266+03:30Iran names conditions of reduction of gas prices for Turkey<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Trend <span style="color: #060606; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px;">Elmira Tariverdiyeva, Tamkin Jafarov</span><span style="color: #060606; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px;"> </span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<div style="border: 0px; color: #060606; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh named conditions for reducing gas prices for Turkey, Iran's ISNA news agency reported on Feb.22.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #060606; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">"We are willing to lower the gas price supplied to Turkey, upon condition that it will increase the volume of imported gas from Iran," Zanganeh said, adding that the share of gas in Turkey`s market is important for Iran.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #060606; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Earlier, Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yildiz said that natural gas prices, offered by Iran, does not satisfy Turkey.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #060606; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Currently Turkey and Iran are in talks on gas prices, but no agreement has been reached between the parties yet, according to the minister.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #060606; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In March 2012, Ankara appealed to International arbitration over the issue price of Iranian gas price</span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">.</span></span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #060606; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The agreement on supplies of 10 billion cubic meters of gas to Turkey on an annual basis was signed with Iran in 1996.</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #060606; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The prices are not officially disclosed, but according to Turkish media outlets, Turkey buys Iranian gas for $490 per thousand cubic meters.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In 2012 Turkey imported 7.5 billion cubic meters of gas from Iran, according to BP statistics.<br />Earlier Yildiz said that, in 2013 Turkey imported gas from Iran worth $4.5 billion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i style="background-color: white;">Source: <a href="http://en.trend.az/regions/iran/2245044.html">http://en.trend.az/regions/iran/2245044.html</a></i></span></div>
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Emin Emrah Danışhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878307382776681577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-890939228743160484.post-5955785057384194352014-02-23T19:53:00.001+03:302014-02-23T19:53:20.421+03:30Jordan, Iraq preparing to tender $18b oil pipeline<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEv4uoiDx99-amvkJSFMUFi4T2STp4BW2kfa9a4TJW941wzljDusX9PSReKxqrU50nPmNou0uOEPimUJF22Gqu5ghazYzj1LU057_HJkqfXApvZjNsjQqL4XtcNxnpyVlappTn9TcQDZg/s1600/pipeline+const+middle+east.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEv4uoiDx99-amvkJSFMUFi4T2STp4BW2kfa9a4TJW941wzljDusX9PSReKxqrU50nPmNou0uOEPimUJF22Gqu5ghazYzj1LU057_HJkqfXApvZjNsjQqL4XtcNxnpyVlappTn9TcQDZg/s1600/pipeline+const+middle+east.jpg" height="262" width="400" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b>
<b>The Jordan Times</b><br />
<br />
Work to construct a $18 billion oil pipeline from Iraq’s Basra to Jordan’s port city of Aqaba may start soon, as officials from both coutries are meeting with international firms interested in the mega-project, an official said Saturday.<br />
<br />
Jordan and Iraq are speeding up their measures and efforts to construct the pipeline, a senior official at the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) told The Jordan Times.<br />
<br />
The official, who preferred to remain unnamed, said that Jordanian and Iraqi officials held meetings last week in Aqaba with several international companies that showed interest in carrying out the scheme, adding that work on the project is set to begin soon.<br />
<br />
Once completed –– the pipeline is projected to export 2.25 million barrels of oil per day through the Kingdom. It would generate between $2 billion and $3 billion a year in revenues for the Kingdom, according to estimates of Iraqi and Jordanian officials.<br />
<br />
The source said that Jordanian and Iraqi officials had agreed to prepare copies of the tenders from the Iraqi side.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
ASEZA Chief Commissioner Kamel Mahadin, who attended the meeting, said it is one of the mega-projects that would further enhance economic ties between Jordan and Iraq.<br />
<br />
“Iraq will provide Jordan with oil at preferential prices,” Mahadin added.<br />
In addition to securing the Kingdom’s oil needs, 120,000-150,000 barrels a day, the 1,700 kilometre-long pipeline is expected to create around 10,000 jobs in Iraq and over 3,000 opportunities for Jordanian engineers and workers.<br />
<br />
The double pipeline may also include extending a sub-pipeline to Jordan’s sole refinery in Zarqa.<br />
<br />
Last week meetings came just days before the launching of the Basra investment forum that will take place in Amman between February 27 and 28, and will focus on the Basra-Aqaba oil pipeline project.<br />
<br />
<b>Source: <a href="http://m.jordantimes.com/jordan-iraq-preparing-to-tender-18b-oil-pipeline">http://m.jordantimes.com/jordan-iraq-preparing-to-tender-18b-oil-pipeline</a></b></div>
Emin Emrah Danışhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878307382776681577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-890939228743160484.post-24187621365953832852014-02-12T14:26:00.000+03:302014-02-12T14:26:05.080+03:30Turkey to consume less gas in 2014<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisrs3IuVIpOnYz4NGxwA0M_ioOZec63SSo4Pl9y0B7PBN_o6lP6ErB0vZJxjsUDg2y5sKooVoJBTolHNYB_iyLa288kQf26cHMj2l-Ab6rvoHgrcz9BSiD4Ivwcz0N3h1rDzYhfofdDlI/s1600/do%C4%9Fal+gaz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisrs3IuVIpOnYz4NGxwA0M_ioOZec63SSo4Pl9y0B7PBN_o6lP6ErB0vZJxjsUDg2y5sKooVoJBTolHNYB_iyLa288kQf26cHMj2l-Ab6rvoHgrcz9BSiD4Ivwcz0N3h1rDzYhfofdDlI/s1600/do%C4%9Fal+gaz.jpg" height="245" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>AA</b><br />
<br />
Turkey’s total domestic gas consumption for 2014 is estimated to be 46.5
billion cubic meters, a decrease of 0.5 billion cubic meters compared
to last year, according to the Energy Market Regulatory Authority
(EPDK).<br /><br />Turkey consumed 45.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2012 and 47 billion cubic meters in 2013.<br />Turkey’s energy import bill decreased by 7 percent in 2012, falling to $55.9 billion from $60.1 billion the previous year.<br /><br />Russia
has become Turkey’s largest natural gas supplier, importing more than
half of its annual 45.2 billion cubic meters from Russia’s energy giant
Gazprom.<br /><br />Gazprom sold 162.7 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Europe last year, out of which 26.6 billion cubic meters, 16 percent, was sold to Turkey. </div>
Emin Emrah Danışhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878307382776681577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-890939228743160484.post-15156582723254459832014-02-12T12:27:00.000+03:302014-02-12T12:28:53.706+03:30Turkey’s gas trading hub dream realistic: Oxford Study <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP_IvIVhkFD4wKK340SLPKnzzCctZth0A-5bJdofZWFW7VWNRkwzdKmrpGBhtQ_inbJ4CDZjG1EnDcuyDOPeT7TnFJEd9KFluLI3AWK4wCmWX9gqo6PvlG6xrNcUGwO7-_VGTwiN8YdKw/s1600/NAB..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP_IvIVhkFD4wKK340SLPKnzzCctZth0A-5bJdofZWFW7VWNRkwzdKmrpGBhtQ_inbJ4CDZjG1EnDcuyDOPeT7TnFJEd9KFluLI3AWK4wCmWX9gqo6PvlG6xrNcUGwO7-_VGTwiN8YdKw/s1600/NAB..jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Reuters</b><br />
<br />
Turkey’s vision of becoming a gas trading hub is realistic given its
diversity of supply but it would need to speed up market reform and
invest more in gas infrastructure, an Oxford University study said on
Feb. 10.<br />
<br />
Turkey has long wanted to have a major power and gas
market, capitalizing on growing domestic demand for gas and its
proximity to cheap natural gas resources.<br />
<br />
It has few natural
resources of its own, but is at the centre of nearly all gas pipelines
that would link Central Asia to Europe, defining the regional market for
decades to come.<br />
<br />
Turkey’s rise to prominence in energy markets
would also add to its growing influence as a major economic and
political player between Central Asia, the Middle East and the European
Union, to which Ankara aspires to be a member.<br />
<br />
According
to state pipeline company BOTAS, Turkish natural gas demand is forecast
to grow to 81 billion cubic meters (bcm) a year by 2030 from the
current 47 bcm/yr.<br />
<br />
It could potentially trade up to 100 bcm of
gas a year when large-scale investments in gas infrastructure have taken
place, such as new liquefied natural (LNG) gas and storage facilities,
said the paper by the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Turkey
could either become a physical gas trading hub with import and export
pipelines, connected to other hubs via interconnectors, or a commercial
hub with bilateral and broker-based trading.<br />
<br />
To become either of
these, Turkey needs to unbundle BOTAS’ transport and wholesale
businesses and create a commercial energy exchange, the institute said.<br />
<br />
An
exchange market would provide a predictable pricing mechanism for banks
and financial institutions. This would help to build confidence among
foreign energy investors, who are needed to raise $100 billion of energy
investment by 2023.<br />
<br />
The development of a liquid gas trading hub
will be difficult, however, as most gas coming into Turkey is traded
under long-term contract, oil-indexed prices.<br />
<br />
“For the hub vision
to be realized, there needs to be sufficient spot gas traded in Turkey
to form a reliable price index,” the study said.<br />
<br />
“Suppliers would migrate from oil indexation to this traded price index for long-term contracts.” </div>
Emin Emrah Danışhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878307382776681577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-890939228743160484.post-15541895409217104192014-02-11T14:51:00.000+03:302014-02-11T14:51:22.403+03:30Cyprus to open fresh peace talks<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqhjIDo_AV5KT84wBoPEJj9vl577FWBBOdSwUvXXYSG1KL6UZipWKWFFitDOE7suF90BkuaJ6qi24BDyLClmmmcn199Dsug42z0XTRwLU_sSCEsv9gEp4VOqugmOn5qCcZLHCpkmYznWc/s1600/Cyprus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqhjIDo_AV5KT84wBoPEJj9vl577FWBBOdSwUvXXYSG1KL6UZipWKWFFitDOE7suF90BkuaJ6qi24BDyLClmmmcn199Dsug42z0XTRwLU_sSCEsv9gEp4VOqugmOn5qCcZLHCpkmYznWc/s1600/Cyprus.jpg" height="258" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<div data-track-pos="0" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Financial Times Andreas Hadjipapas, Dan Dombey, Kerin Hope</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The leaders of the Greek and Turkish communities in Cyprus are set to announce a fresh initiative to reunify the Mediterranean island following months of quiet diplomacy by the US aimed at achieving a broader reconciliation involving Israel, Turkey and Cyprus.</span></div>
<div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Nicos Anastasiades, the Greek Cypriot leader, and Dervis Eroglou, his Turkish Cypriot counterpart, will on Tuesday make a joint commitment to resuming negotiations “in a results-oriented manner” hoping to wrap up a peace settlement as soon as possible, according to the text of a joint declaration leaked to Cypriot media at the weekend.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span><div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The US intervention ended a five-month stalemate, typical of previous efforts to reinvigorate UN sponsored peace talks, over details of turning the ethnically divided island into a federation. This would be formed of two constituent states in which Greek and Turkish Cypriots would continue to run their own domestic affairs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“The two sides will seek to create a positive atmosphere to ensure the talks succeed. They commit to avoiding blame games or other negative comments on the negotiations,” the statement said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Relations between the two communities have been sour since 2004 when the Greek Cypriots rejected the Annan plan – named after the former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan – in a referendum. Mr Anastasiades was the only Greek Cypriot leader to back the plan. The result meant that the smaller Turkish Cypriot community living on the north of the island was blocked from EU membership, even though it backed reunification in a separate vote.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">With the two biggest Greek Cypriot political parties backing the new initiative, there was optimism in Nicosia that an end to the island’s 40-year division could be within reach.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Recent discoveries of large offshore gas deposits between Cyprus and Israel that could be channelled to European markets by a pipeline through Turkey have fuelled hopes of a settlement.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div data-track-pos="1" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“The economic problems triggered by Cyprus’s banking collapse and bailout have badly shaken society. More people now think that a solution could be a catalyst for economic growth involving reconstruction and offshore gas development, ”said Philippos Savvides, an Athens-based commentator.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Progress on the Cypriot front would be enormously significant for Turkey – the power behind the Turkish Cypriots – at a time when the country has put renewed focus on its EU membership hopes and has signalled its interest in gas purchases from Israel. At present both issues are complicated by the Cyprus dispute: 14 of Turkey’s 35 negotiating chapters with the EU are blocked because of tensions between Ankara and Nicosia, while the logical route for an Israeli-Turkish gas pipeline would go through Cypriot waters and could also link up with Cyprus’ own gas production.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“If there is a solution, we could open all 14 chapters, they could transport gas to Turkey, there would be so many positive aspects.” said a Turkish official. “The Greek Cypriots need a positive result for the economy as well.”</span></div>
<div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">He argued that the joint statement could pave the way to a final deal in coming months, because the two sides “have basically agreed on the core issues” in the text.</span></div>
<div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In a related development, diplomats say Turkey and Israel are close to agreeing the compensation terms over the deaths of nine Turkish activists killed by the Israel Defence Forces in 2010. Such an agreement would allow Israel and Turkey to exchange ambassadors once again and greatly facilitate Turkish-Israeli energy co-operation, as part of the new energy map of the Eastern Mediterranean.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div data-track-pos="3" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Turkey is also keen to improve relations with the EU, its major source of investment, finance and export markets, in the light of a corruption scandal that has strained ties with the West and highlighted the country’s dependence on hot money.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But Hugh Pope at the International Crisis Group in Istanbul said there were still long odds against a deal. “The fact is that we have had four decades of talks, five major rounds and none of them have managed to get very far,” he said, adding that trade between the two sides was diminishing and that there “was no sign that popular opinion is interested in coming together”.</span></div>
<div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mr Pope hailed plans for Greek and Turkish Cypriot negotiators to travel to Ankara and Athens respectively and the Cypriot government’s preparedness “to have a much lighter federation than the previous government aimed at”.</span></div>
<div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But he added: “Currently there isn’t any change in the parameters on the table that would make one believe there is a miracle about to happen.”</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Source:</i> <a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/d92d7200-9278-11e3-9e43-00144feab7de.html#axzz2t0kaFkZw">http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/d92d7200-9278-11e3-9e43-00144feab7de.html#axzz2t0kaFkZw</a></span></div>
</div>
Emin Emrah Danışhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878307382776681577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-890939228743160484.post-25504406917070775592014-02-11T13:29:00.003+03:302014-02-11T13:29:53.234+03:30Azerbaijan offers Iraq access to Europe gas pipelines<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><br /></b>
<b>AFP</b><br />
<br />
Azerbaijan has offered Iraq access to the "Southern Gas Corridor" connecting the Caspian Sea to the European Union to help Baghdad sell natural gas to Europe, Baku's foreign minister said Monday.<br /><br />Elmar
Mammadyarov told journalists in the Iraqi capital that officials in
Baghdad had already expressed interest in joining the massive project,
which is supported by the United States and aims to reduce Europe's
dependence on gas from Russia.<br /><br />"It's a huge project ... and it's
open if Iraq is also interested to deliver their own natural gas,"
Mammadyarov said at a joint news conference with his Iraqi counterpart
Hoshyar Zebari.<br /><br />"The project is there, so if any other countries
... want to join the Southern Gas Corridor, including Iraq, who already
expressed some interest for this project, we are ready to start
negotiations." Gas pumped from the immense new Shah Deniz II field will
travel across Azerbaijan and Georgia
and across Turkey through a new Trans-Anatolian Pipeline, which is set
to be a key part of the Southern Gas Corridor from the Caspian Sea to
Turkey and the EU.<br /><br />Russia, meanwhile, backs a new pipeline under
construction known as South Stream that aims to transport 63 billion
cubic metres under the Black Sea to Europe.<br /><br />
<a name='more'></a>Europe's
annual demand for additional gas import may reach 80 billion cubic
metres by 2020 and surpass 140 billion cubic metres by 2030, according
to the South Stream website.<br /><br />Iraq currently produces relatively
small quantities of gas, most of which is kept for its domestic market,
and flares off a large amount of associated gas from its vast oil
fields.<br /><br />But the country is looking to ramp up exports of natural
gas to fund reconstruction of its conflict-battered economy and
infrastructure.</div>
Emin Emrah Danışhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878307382776681577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-890939228743160484.post-23169994618665552942014-02-06T19:15:00.003+03:302014-02-06T19:15:40.396+03:30How Far Is Northern Iraq Oil To Turkey ?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>How Far Is Northern Iraq Oil To Turkey ?</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Hazar World, February 2014, Vol. 15</div>
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Click the link for read</div>
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Emin Emrah Danışhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878307382776681577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-890939228743160484.post-69407666871291217822014-02-06T19:11:00.000+03:302014-02-06T19:12:05.943+03:30Kuzey Irak Petrolü Türkiye'ye Ne Kadar Irak ?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b>Kuzey Irak Petrolü Türkiye'ye Ne Kadar <i>Irak </i>?</b></div>
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Hazar World, Şubat 2014, Sayı:15</div>
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Okumak için lütfen aşağıdaki linke tıklayınız</div>
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Emin Emrah Danışhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878307382776681577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-890939228743160484.post-20416334154144938192014-01-24T13:23:00.002+03:302014-01-24T13:25:06.251+03:30Russia seeks opportunities for Israel, Syria, Cyprus, Lebanon and Gazza offshore gas fields on Mediterranean<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Roboto;"><b>UPI</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Roboto;">Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is in Moscow on a four-day visit seeking to secure a $1 billion deal with Russia to develop a natural gas field off the Gaza Strip.</span><br />
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The move would expand what appears to be a determined Russian push into the energy-rich Eastern Mediterranean, Russian media reports indicated.</div>
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Russia signed a 25-year agreement with Syria's embattled regime Dec. 25 that gives Russia's state-controlled Soyuzneftegaz exclusive exploration, development and production rights over 850 square miles of Syrian waters, Moscow's first real foothold in the booming Levant Basin.</div>
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The U.S. Geological Survey reported in 2010 that the basin, which covers Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Cyprus and the Gaza Strip, contains at least 123 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas and 1.7 billion barrels of oil.</div>
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The Syrian deal gives Russian President Vladimir Putin a way into a region whose resources have barely been tapped and is becoming a strategic energy source that will transform regional economies and open up new supplies of natural gas to Europe.</div>
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Moscow also is maneuvering to get a stake in the gas bonanza in Israel.</div>
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The Jewish state began production at its Tamar field off Haifa, with reserves of 8 trillion cubic feet, March 30 and the much bigger Leviathan field is scheduled to go onstream in 2017.</div>
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The Israelis, who decided in 2012 to export 40 percent of their natural gas, are discussing with nearby Cyprus, currently in the exploration stage, whether to jointly export gas via undersea pipeline to Turkey, and then to Europe, or build a liquefication plant to ship it by tanker.</div>
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Israeli press reports indicate the Russians are interested in a partnership in Leviathan, which contains an estimated 16 trillion cubic feet with the consortium that discovered the Israeli fields, Noble Energy of Houston, Texas, and its main Israeli partner, The Delek Group.</div>
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Russia has close relations with Cyprus, particularly since the collapse of the Soviet Union two decades ago. These revolve primarily around the island's offshore banking system which has become a key depository for the funds of Moscow's oligarchs.</div>
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Gazprom, the world's biggest energy conglomerate, is heading the Russian talks with Israel and Cyprus. Although no major breakthrough appears imminent, Israel and Cyprus have not decided whether they will cooperate on exports or whether they will use pipelines or liquefication.</div>
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Russia's ITAR-Tass news agency says Gazprom hopes to secure the Gaza contract, but it's not clear how far negotiations have gone.</div>
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Nor was there clarification on what control Abbas' Palestinian Authority might have over Gaza.</div>
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The Palestinian movement split in June 2007, when the fundamentalist Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip, leaving Abbas' Fatah movement, founded in the 1960s by the late Yasser Arafat, holding the West Bank.</div>
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Relations between Abbas and Hamas are strained, although there has been talk of reuniting and securing a Moscow deal for Gaza's gas field might promote that, and possibly bolster peace prospects with Israel.</div>
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Hamas refuses to recognize Israel and opposes the 1993-94 Oslo Accords that Arafat signed, supposedly ending the Palestinians' war against Israeli occupation.</div>
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The Gaza gas field was discovered in 2000 by British Gas, which later became Britain's BG Group. But it was never developed because of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. However, in October, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the Israeli and Palestinian governments, meaning Abbas' PA, were in talks on developing the field.</div>
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Blair is the Jerusalem-based representative of the Quartet -- the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations -- that oversees efforts to secure an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.</div>
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Although the Gaza field is dwarfed by Israel's fields to the north, with reserves currently estimated at 30 trillion cubic feet, it has enough gas to supply the Palestinians for up to 12 years.</div>
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No progress on these talks has been reported. On Jan. 6, Israel's Delek Group said it had signed a deal with the PA to provide the West Bank -- excluding Gaza -- with 167.7 billion cubic feet of gas over 20 years once Leviathan starts producing.</div>
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Delek's deal with the Palestine Power Generation Co. is the first of its kind. Jordan, which borders the West Bank and signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, is expected to sign on as customer for Leviathan gas too.</div>
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<i>Source: <a href="http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2014/01/23/Abbas-seeks-1B-deal-with-Russia-on-Gaza-natural-gas-field/UPI-20211390508361/">http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2014/01/23/Abbas-seeks-1B-deal-with-Russia-on-Gaza-natural-gas-field/UPI-20211390508361/</a></i></div>
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Emin Emrah Danışhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878307382776681577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-890939228743160484.post-64027552752588104592013-12-13T19:08:00.000+03:302013-12-13T19:10:02.715+03:30Cyprus and Egypt sign unitisation deal on the joint exploitation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b> Cyprus Mail</b><br />
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Cyprus and Egypt yesterday signed a unitisation agreement on the
joint exploitation of hydrocarbon reserves, on the median line between
the two countries’ respective exclusive economic zones (EEZ).<br />
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The seminal agreement paves the way for commercial interests to take
advantage of any hydrocarbon reserves found in areas that could cross
either side of the dividing line between the two countries’ EEZ.<br />
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In total, three bilateral agreements were signed yesterday during
President Nicos Anastasiades’ two-day official visit to Cairo, marking
an upturn in relations between Cyprus and the interim government of
Egypt.<br />
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Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides signed a Revised Aviation
Agreement between Egypt and Cyprus while Energy Minister Giorgos
Lakkotrypis signed a framework agreement for the Development of
Cross-Median Line Hydrocarbon Resources.<br />
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A cooperation agreement was also signed between the Cyprus Institute
of Neurology and Genetics and the Children’s Cancer Hospital of Cairo.<br />
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The unitisation agreement is a final agreement between two
governments, and the first one signed between Cyprus and one of its
neighbours, with significant implications for the development of the
industry in the Eastern Mediterranean.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>“Instead of neighbouring countries being in conflict, these
agreements lead to cooperation for the exploitation of this wealth that
God gave them,” said Anastasiades.<br />
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Cyprus has already signed EEZ delineation agreements with Egypt,
Lebanon and Israel, to the annoyance of Turkey which is not a signatory
to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea outlining how neighbouring
countries can peacefully carve up the rights to natural resources under
the sea.<br />
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While the Lebanese parliament has yet to ratify the agreement with
Cyprus, Lebanon is keen to explore its hydrocarbons options in the
region, even raising hopes of reaching some kind of a settlement with
Israel regarding the two foes’ dispute over claims to their respective
economic waters.<br />
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The next stage in developing relations between countries sharing an
EEZ border would be to sign a unitisation agreement which ensures that
if reserves are found in the median line between the two countries, a
peaceful, legal agreement exists stipulating how to carve up those
reserves.<br />
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In case a joint reservoir is found, the companies working on either
side of the line need to reach a corporate agreement with each other
which will come within the framework of the unitisation agreement
between the two neighbouring states.<br />
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Cyprus and Israel have been negotiating for quite some time on a unitisation agreement, as yet to no avail.<br />
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At the same time, Cyprus has long sought a similar agreement with Egypt.<br />
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According to reports, this was not made possible during the
government of ousted president Mohamed Morsi, due to Turkish pressure
against the idea.<br />
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Following the removal of Morsi by the Egyptian army, after popular
uprisings against the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood, Cyprus’ relations
with its southern neighbor improved greatly.<br />
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While the EU foreign ministers and the bloc’s foreign policy chief
Catherine Ashton voiced concern about the violent suppression of Morsi
supporters, Kasoulides kept the channels of communication open with
Cairo through the consistent support for the new interim government. The
policy shift appeared to pay off yesterday.<br />
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Speaking during a joint press conference with Egyptian Prime Minister
Hazem el-Beblawi, Anastasiades said the bilateral agreements signed
constitute proof of the great interest of Cyprus and Egypt to strengthen
even further their relations and help maintain peace in the region.<br />
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He noted Egypt’s long-standing support for Cyprus and the latter’s
pledge, as an EU member, to stand by Egypt and support the Egyptian
people’s pursuit of the restoration of democracy.<br />
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Cyprus considers Egypt an “excellent partner and friend in the region
which is why we are pursuing closer and deeper relations,” said
Anastasiades.<br />
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The discovery of hydrocarbons in the region “will allow us to have
closer cooperation to achieve what we all want, peace in the region and
development through investments”.<br />
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He also voiced support for the tripartite effort to enhance ties between Cyprus, Egypt and Greece.<br />
The president highlighted future cooperation with Egypt in the fields
of tourism, education, search and rescue and other issues of great
significance for both countries.<br />
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For his part, el-Beblawi described the visit as “important” for both
countries, but also for the region. The Egyptian PM highlighted the
“very positive stance Cyprus maintains within the EU, always supporting
the Egyptian positions”, adding he was sure this will continue.<br />
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Asked to comment on Turkey’s challenges to Cyprus’ EEZ, el-Beblawi
said: “We believe that the solution lies through cooperation and
dialogue which is always the best way to resolve issues between
countries”, adding, “Everyone should respect international legality”.<br />
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<i>Source: <a href="http://cyprus-mail.com/2013/12/13/cyprus-and-egypt-sign-unitisation-deal-on-the-joint-exploitation/">http://cyprus-mail.com/2013/12/13/cyprus-and-egypt-sign-unitisation-deal-on-the-joint-exploitation/</a></i><br />
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Emin Emrah Danışhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00878307382776681577noreply@blogger.com0