On January 6, Kazakhstan Electricity Grid Operating Company (KEGOC) announced its plans to exit the Central Asian power system. Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan’s inability to reach regional agreements with Kazakhstan on electricity supply over the winter is the main reason for KEGOC’s decision. Due to technical... MORE

Two parallel court proceedings in Vienna have confirmed that Austrian OMV and Russian Surgut Neftegaz had coordinated their hostile takeover attempts against Hungarian MOL. The Austrian and the Russian company were targeting MOL’s oil-refining business, which is recognized as the most efficient in Central Europe.... MORE

The People's Republic of China (PRC) is pursuing a variety of objectives in Central Asia. These objectives include securing regional states' support in suppressing anti-Beijing Uighur nationalists and potential terrorist threats, giving Chinese firms access to energy resources as well as trade and investment opportunities,... MORE

The Interconnector Turkey-Greece-Italy (ITGI) is a project of the Milano-based Edison with Depa, the Greek state-controlled gas transmission and trading company. ITGI proposes to carry 10 to 12 billion cubic meters (bcm) of “Caspian” gas per year, including 8 bcm to Italy and the remainder... MORE

A contest for priority access to Azerbaijani gas has developed between three gas transport and trading projects: Nabucco, the Interconnector Turkey-Greece-Italy (ITGI), and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP, geographically a continuation of the Turkish pipeline route into Greece, heading for Italy). All three are component projects... MORE

Energy policy continues to dominate Turkey’s political agenda, as the Turkish Energy Minister, Taner Yildiz, has outlined various projects to address the country’s energy needs. Yildiz found the performance of the Turkish energy sector in 2010 satisfactory, in many respects; the increasing energy generating capacity;... MORE

Stakeholders in Nabucco and other Southern Corridor pipeline consortiums, as well as Shah Deniz project stakeholders in Azerbaijan, the European Commission, and many observers consider that investment decisions are a must in the first half of 2011.If finalized at this juncture, the investment decisions would... MORE

The European Commission’s President, Jose Manuel Barroso, and EU Energy Commissioner, Guenther Oettinger, are starting on January 13 an unprecedented joint visit to Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. They are responding to Turkmenistan’s recent positive signals about supplies for the EU’s Nabucco transport project, but also to... MORE

Moscow has pledged to sustain its crude oil production at high levels and increase exports. However, the economic model of the Russian oil sector still seems to remain largely export-oriented, while the government seemingly views it as a major cash-cow.The authorities have increased the oil... MORE

As South Sudan’s referendum on independence draws nearer, the international community is preparing for the possible division of Sudan into two independent states. With signs of growing tensions and several issues still to be resolved by negotiations—notably agreements on the demarcation of a north-south border... MORE