FSUOGM - Former Soviet Union Oil & Gas

12 January 2024

Russian oil, gas revenues rebounded to pre-war level in 2023, claims government

11 January 2024

Russian budget revenues from oil and gas recovered last year to the same level they had been at in 2021, prior to the war in Ukraine, at least according to an expectation made by Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak on December 28.

Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan dispute blamed for halt in gas imports to Iran

11 January 2024

Iranian Deputy Oil Minister Majid Chegeni said Iran’s gas imports from Turkmenistan were cut off due to a disagreement between the Central Asian nation and Azerbaijan.

SOFAZ has received the 7th tranche of the bonus under the new contract for the development of the ACG block

11 January 2024

The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) received the seventh tranche of a bonus of $450mn as part of a new contract for the development of the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) field block until 2050, the fund said.

Aliyev announces major energy initiatives for 2024

11 January 2024

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev has outlined a series of ambitious initiatives for the nation's energy sector in 2024, focusing on enhancing gas production and reinforcing the country's role in the European energy market.

What will Azerbaijan do without Turkmen gas in 2024?

11 January 2024

Azerbaijan may no longer require gas imports from Turkmenistan in 2024 if the current swap agreement through Iran is not renewed.

Russian Sakhalin-1 faces difficulties with oil shipments

11 January 2024

The Russian Sakhalin-1 oil extraction project has not resolved the problems with shipments of Sokol blend oil since November 2023. Loaded tankers with Sakhalin oil are standing idle and waiting for further orders from the sellers.

Russian oil drilling activity record-high in 2023

10 January 2024

In 11M23, Russia drilled oil production wells with a total depth of 28,100km, according to industry data reported by Bloomberg, which would put drilling activity on track to beat last year’s post-Soviet record.

Turkmenistan: Swap stop

10 January 2024

Gas swap deal with Azerbaijan, Iran suspended amid talks. Weaponising unemployment. Arkadag goes to Abu Dhabi. And more in this week's Eurasianet Akhal-Teke Bulletin.

Ukraine extracts more than 1bcm of gas for the first time in 20 years

10 January 2024

Ukraine extracted more than one billion cubic metres of gas from new wells in 2023 for the first time in two decades, the state gas mining company UkrGasVydobuvannya said on January 9.

Germany’s power consumption falls to the 1990 level as industry withers

10 January 2024

Germany’s deindustrialisation is gathering pace as the boomerang effects of the extreme sanction on Russia bounce back and affect the Germany economy more than any other in Europe, according to a note by Oxford Economics released on January 9.

Foreign backers of Novatek’s Arctic LNG-2 said to declare force majeure

10 January 2024

The foreign shareholders and backers of the major Arctic LNG-2 project of Russian natural gas major Novatek have declared force majeure on the participation in the project, according to Kommersant daily citing unnamed government officials.

Russia seizes Austria OMV’s shares in gas field

9 January 2024

The 24.99% stake of Austrian oil and gas company OMV in the West Siberian Yuzhno-Russkoye gas field was seized by Russian authorities and will be transferred to newly established local companies under a special presidential decree.

Georgia plans to import 3 bcm of gas from Azerbaijan in 2024

9 January 2024

Georgia plans to import 3.017 bcm of gas from Azerbaijan in 2024 according to the website of the Legislative Bulletin of Georgia. Georgia's natural gas balance for 2024 is 3.231 bcm, 99.6% of which will be covered by imports.

Iran’s gas import from Turkmenistan disrupted

8 January 2024

Iran’s gas imports from Turkmenistan have been halted in a blow to the country’s fragile supply that falls in the winter over surging demand.

Azerbaijan appoints former oil executive as head of climate talks

8 January 2024

Choice of Mukhtar Babayev, a former SOCAR executive, follows the contentious leadership of Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber from the UAE during last month’s COP28.

Belarus’ state-owned oil company Belorusneft lifted a record breaking 1.87mn tonnes of oil in 2023

7 January 2024

The Belarusian company noted it had produced 201,000 tonnes of oil from wells drilled in 2023, which is an extraordinary high result.

Russia’s Gazprom sets gas supply record to China through Power of Siberia pipeline

4 January 2024

Although the company did not provide a specific figure for the record, it announced that gas exports to China through the pipeline had surged to 22.7bn cubic metres in 2023.

Global shipping's chokepoints

4 January 2024

With more and more shipping companies extending full or partial closures of Red Sea shipping routes due to attacks by Yemeni rebels, global trade could be seriously affected, reports Statista.

Russia is denying Iran’s access to its Caspian Sea gas field, says Iranian union chief

4 January 2024

An Iranian trade union boss has accused Russia of blocking Iran’s access to a gas field in the Caspian Sea for extraction.

BP discusses long-term management of Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli fields with Azerbaijan

3 January 2024

BP is engaging with the Azerbaijani government on the effective stewardship of the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) field block until 2049, as per Bakhtiyar Aslanbeyli, BP's vice president for communications and external relations in the Caspian Region.

Novatek shares tumble after reports of force majeure delivery problems from Arctic LNG-2 in 2024

22 December 2023

Russia’s biggest LNG producer Novatek warned customers that it would not be able to meet all its delivery obligations in 2024 due to a force majeure caused by sanctions imposed on the development of its Arctic LNG-2 project by the US.

Global maritime chokepoints are clogging up

17 December 2023

Yemen's Houthi rebels are intensifying their attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, with three commercial ships and a US military unit targeted in the middle of December. All the shipping chokepoints are becoming fouled up.

Azerbaijan has reduced imports of AI-92 gasoline by 67% over 10 months

15 December 2023

In January-October 2023, Azerbaijan imported 64,976.68 tonnes of AI-92 motor gasoline (67.3% lower year on year), 69,430.84 tonnes of Premium Euro-95 (24.7% lower y/y) and Super Euro-98, 1,765.03 tonnes (an increase of 30.3% y/y).

The cost of gas production at SOCAR fields in 2022 increased by 10%

15 December 2023

The cost of gas production at the fields of SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan) in 2022, compared to 2021, increased by 10.35% to AZN67.57 ($39.74) per 1,000 cubic metres according to the company's annual report for 2022.

Rail deliveries boost Russian oil shipments to China in December

15 December 2023

Exports of Russian ESPO oil from the port of Kozmino rose to record-high 0.925mn barrels per day so far in December 2023, with 85% of this volume accounting for deliveries to China.

Azerbaijan increased gas exports by 9% in January-November

14 December 2023

In 2023, Azerbaijan witnessed a notable increase in its natural gas production, reaching a total of 44 bcm in the January-November period and marking a 3.6% rise on the previous year, as reported by the Ministry of Energy.

COP28: vague and voluntary promises

13 December 2023

To say that COP28 in Dubai has been eagerly awaited would be an understatement.

Azerbaijan's income from the activities of main pipelines exceeded $1.5bn for 9 months

13 December 2023

Azerbaijan's income from the activities of main pipelines in January-September 2023 amounted to AZN2.705bn ($1.59bn), which is 2.9% higher year on year, according to the latest governmental report.

BP spuds first well at new ACG platform

13 December 2023

The addition of ACE, the seventh platform at ACG, will add 100,000 barrels per day of oil to the project’s production, providing a temporary bump to output levels at the now mature fields.

EU backs plan to give members right to block Russian gas imports

12 December 2023

The European Parliament and EU member states have agreed on a European Commission proposal that would allow bloc members to prevent gas imports from Russia and Belarus.

Kazakhstan to increase tariff for Russian oil transport in 2024

12 December 2023

Kazakhstan’s national oil transport operator KazTransOil will increase the tariff for the transit of oil from Russia to Uzbekistan and China by 21% from next year, the company said earlier this month.

One year on: laundromat countries allow Russia to dodge oil price cap sanctions

12 December 2023

While it is clear that the sanctions have not reduced the Kremlin’s resolve for war one year on, a CREA analysis revealed that the EU oil import ban and G7 price cap have cut the country’s export earnings from oil by only 14%.

Hungary seeks more time to sell fuel produced from Russian oil

12 December 2023

Hungary’s government intends to veto the proposed 12th package of EU sanctions against Russia if Brussels does not allow the country’s state-owned energy firm MOL to sell petroleum products produced from Russian crude to Croatia and Czechia.

SOFAZ revenues will amount to about $4.8bn in 2024

12 December 2023

The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) is projected to receive $4.791bn in 2024 from the sale of oil and gas under production-sharing agreements, according to the Accounts Chamber.