Kazakhstan in world news: september to october, 2007

General News

Kazakhstani-Chinese Relations built on Solid Ground China Internet Information
Center  (October 15, 2007)
Аor Ikram Adyrbekov, Kazakhstan’s ambassador to China, the cultural events that make up the Days of Culture in China are symbolic of the strong cultural ties between the two countries….”I strongly believe that cultural ties provide additional impetus to efforts to promote the genuine strategic partnership proclaimed by presidents Nursultan Nazarbayev and Hu Jintao in 2005,” Adyrbekov said…The ambassador hopes the weeklong cultural gala, which opens today in Beijing, will help Chinese people understand Kazakh culture’s blending of tradition and modernity, the Orient and Occident and nomadic and sedentary ways of living.

OSCE remains Divided Eurasia.net
(September 25, 2007)
Now that constitutional amendments are in force and a new legislature in place, Kazakhstan is focusing on attaining a long-held goal: chairing the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 2009. Kazakhstan’s democratization record has come under strong criticism this year, but Astana argues that past performance is not an accurate indicator of the country’s future results as the OSCE chair….President Nursultan Nazarbayev recently dispatched one of his close aides to OSCE headquarters in Vienna to present Kazakhstan’s position. A decision by the OSCE 56 member states is expected to be made at a meeting in Madrid in late November….The OSCE originally had been expected to decide the matter in late 2006, but the organization elected to defer an assessment to give Astana more time to improve its democracy and human rights record. One year later, there is still no consensus in the organization.

Giuliani Fund Raising reaches Into Kazakhstan
The Wall Street Journal (September 26, 2007)
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s campaign is looking for political cash this week in an unlikely place: resource-rich Kazakhstan, where the Republican presidential front-runner’s law firm does substantial business in the often murky oil, gas and minerals industries….A fund-raising event tomorrow in Almaty, the commercial center of the former Soviet republic, will mark the campaign’s third foray overseas for cash. Last week, Mr. Giuliani flew to London for a fund-raising luncheon where about 100 Americans living in Europe paid between $1,000 and $2,300 for a ticket, the second his campaign has held in the United Kingdom….Mr. Giuliani won’t attend the event in Kazakhstan….Instead, he is scheduled to go to small-donor “house party” fund-raising events in New Jersey, his campaign said. The candidate will appear at the Kazakhstani event by videoconference, campaign spokeswoman Maria Comella said. She declined to say how much the campaign expected to raise in Kazakhstan.

Oil and Gas

Kazakhstan downgrades Oil Production Forecast
Reuters (October 16, 2007)
Kazakhstan has reconsidered its oil production forecasts until 2015, because of exploration problems at Kashagan.
“By 2010, forecasted oil production will reach over 80 million tons, and in 2015, it will reach 130 million tons, considering domestic demand of 25 million tons,” President Nazarbayev said on Friday….The government planned to reach 150 million tons of oil production per year by this period of time, thereby become one of the world’s biggest suppliers….However, the partners in the Kashagan project are now engaged in a discussion on the delay of oil production from 2008 to 2010….“We will likely become one of the 10 largest hydrocarbon exporters by 2017,” handouts distributed at the journalists’ briefing read.

KMG E&P increases Net Profit 15.7%
Reuters (September 18, 2007)
On September 17, KazMunayGas Exploration & Production reported a 15.7 percent year-on-year rise in net income for the first half of the year, as well as higher crude output due to the acquisition of a local oil company….It said in an official statement net income grew to KZT 58.1 billion ($472 million), while oil output was 4.9 million tons after increasing by 288,000 tons as compared to the first half of 2006….”The increase was primarily due to the acquisition of a 50 percent stake in KazGerMunay, completed on April 24, 2007,” it said.

Petrom buys Petromservice for Euro 328 Million
HotNews.ro (Romania) (September 19, 2007)
Romanian oil group Petrom announced the acquisition of oil service company Petromservice for Euro 328.5 million on Tuesday. This is the second major transaction on the oil market this year after Dinu Patriciu, an important Romanian businessman, sold the majority stake in Romania’s second-biggest oil group, Rompetrol, to KMG….As in the case of Rompetrol, the beneficiary of the Petromservice deal is another media mogul in Romania, Sorin Ovidiu Vantu.

Technology will keep

Private Oil Companies Ahead
CNNMoney.com (October 10, 2007)
Technology is the main way for private oil companies to face up to the challenges of resource-nationalism, scarcer reserves, and rocketing demand, petroleum executives told a conference Wednesday….Exxon Mobil’s Bruce March, director of refining in Europe, said focusing on technological expertise is the best way for private oil majors to compete with state-owned producers in exploration and production….That technological edge will be critical in developing “the next great region of exploration,” he said, adding that that region is “probably the Arctic.” Advanced technology also is key to developing Kazakhstan’s Kashagan field, where he said safe production presents “huge challenges.”

Finance and Investment

Moody’s gives Kazkommertsbank
New Rating Moody’s (October 12, 2007)
On October 10, Moody’s published the Global Rating of Banking Deposits in National Currency (GLC), for which Kazkommertsbank was rated at