CENN – DECEMBER 24, 2004 DAILY DIGEST
Table of Contents:
1. SOCAR Thinks Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline May be 11 % Over Budget
2. BP, TNK-BP Discuss Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipe
3. Detained Poacher has Wounded Employee of Ministry of Ecology and
Natural Resources
4. Ceremony Marks Opening of Aerial Tramway at Tsakhkadzor Resort
5. Iranian gas pipeline to ensure diverse energy sources for Armenia
6. Unluckiest Village in Armenia
7. Armenia Eligible to Receive Loan from OPEC Fund for International
Development
8. UNECE seminar of the Working Group on IWRM of the Water Convention
9. USA Ambassador in Azerbaijan Mr. Reno Harnish Expressed Concern About
the Events Taken Place in Azerbaijani advocacy
1. SOCAR THINKS BAKU-TBILISI-CEYHAN PIPELINE MAY BE 11 % OVER BUDGET
Source: EINnews, December 23, 2004
The cost of building the nearly completed Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil export
pipeline could hit $ 4 bn, SOCAR said, just days after Azerbaijan’s
state oil company downplayed the extend of cost overruns. The pipeline
was originally budgeted to cost $ 3.6 bn.
“Total expenses may increase by $ 350 mm-$ 450 mm,” SOCAR General
Director Natik Aliyev said. “We’ve reached the conclusion that costs may
reach $ 4 bn.” Aliyev said the pipeline could exceed its budget by 5 %
to 7 %. Costs of $ 4 bn represent an 11 % increase.
One reason for the increase is the rising price of oil. After a pipeline
is built, the operator must fill it with the requisite minimum amount of
oil that’s to be in the pipeline at all times. BP, which leads the
consortium of companies that own the pipeline, originally estimated that
it would have to spend $ 40 a barrel on this so-called technical crude,
Aliyev said.
Pipeline shareholders plan to buy 10 mm barrel of oil from the nearby
Azer-Chirac-Guneshli project to fill the pipeline in the first stage.
“But now it’s impossible to tell what the price will be in January or
February of next year,” he added. “It could be $ 60 a barrel, or it
could fall.”
Rising global demand and political instability in the Middle East have
caused prices to rise to as high as $ 55 a barrel in the past several
months. Other reasons behind the cost overruns include responding to
protests by nongovernmental organizations, a temporary work stoppage in
Georgia, a rise in the costs of transporting pipes from Japan and an
increase in the price of those pipes.
The falling dollar also played a role, Aliyev said.
“Most of the equipment was procured in Europe, and its
dollar-denominated price rose” with the falling dollar, he said.
Apart from BP, SOCAR, ENI, Itochu, Unocal, Statoil, ConocoPhillips and
Total are shareholders in the project.
2 BP, TNK-BP DISCUSS BAKU-TBILISI-CEYHAN PIPE
Source: Interfax, December 21, 2004
British Petroleum and TNK-BP are discussing the possibility of
transporting TNK-BP oil through the Baku- Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, BP
Azerbaijan President David Woodward said.
He said that they have not yet reached the stage of discussing volumes
and transport schedules and that they are only discussing transport
options and possibilities.
He said that one potential option for transporting Russian oil through
the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline might be to reverse the Baku-
Novorossiisk pipeline to Baku. David Woodward also said that it is
possible to supply oil by sea from Astrakhan to Baku, for further
transportation through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.
3 DETAINED POACHER HAS WOUNDED EMPLOYEE OF MINISTRY OF ECOLOGY AND
NATURAL RESOURCES
Source: State Telegraphic Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Azertag,
December 22, 2004
During a raid aimed at revealing of the illegal facts of hunting, which
was held by the 2nd Territorial Department of the Ministry of Ecology
and Natural Resources in territory of Duyarli village of Shamkir region
was detained by poaching the resident of region Samir Ismailov.
As informed correspondent AzerTAj from the press-service of the
Ministry, the poacher who has not obeyed requirements of ecologists, has
opened fire and wound the employee of department Elmar Aliyev. The case
investigated by the Office of Public Prosecutor Shamkir region.
4 CEREMONY MARKS OPENING OF AERIAL TRAMWAY AT TSAKHKADZOR RESORT
Source: President.am, December, 2004
President Robert Kocharian participated in the opening ceremony of the
newly renovated aerial tramway at the Tsakhkadzor resort.
Kocharian hailed the completion, adding that the last section of the
tramway would be ready by next year, meeting all international
standards. “The new aerial tramway is built on a higher level than
Tsakhkadzor’s entire infrastructure. We should encourage businesses and
investors to build new hotels here, introduce services and leisure
places to make Tsakhkadzor a true tourist attraction. Only in that case
can we claim that we reached our goal,” Kocharian stressed.
The 2500 meters long aerial tramway has been renovated by a prominent
Swiss company specializing in assembling aerial tramways and other
construction works. The Tsakhkadzor resort is on the eastern slope of
Mount Teghenis and is famous for its numerous lodges and sport
facilities
5 IRANIAN GAS PIPELINE TO ENSURE DIVERSE ENERGY SOURCES FOR ARMENIA
Source: Mediamax news agency, December 22, 2004
Yerevan, December 22, 2004: The possible transit of gas by the
Iran-Armenia gas pipeline is “an issue of the future”, Armenian Foreign
Minister Vardan Oskanyan said in Yerevan today.
Oskanyan told a press conference at the National Press Club that the
main goal in the construction of the gas pipeline is to have diverse
energy sources for Armenia.
Asked if Russia could interfere in this issue, Oskanyan said “Armenia is
always taking into account the interests of the neighbouring countries,
but is acting, first of all, in line with its own interests”.
Commenting on a project to construct a railway between Iran and Armenia,
Oskanyan said the project requires large funds. However, he said as the
trade between Armenia and Iran is growing day by day, there is a need
for a railway between the two countries.
“This issue needs to be discussed and analysed seriously,” Oskanyan
said.
6 UNLUCKIEST VILLAGE IN ARMENIA
Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting, December 22, 2004
The New Year will not be a cheerful one in Vanand. Outside it may be the
21st century, but the villagers will be celebrating the arrival of 2005
as they have done for centuries – in the dark without electricity, gas
or running water.
Vanand is located in the Armavir district of western Armenia right on
the border with Turkey. It has a population of 500, with the same number
having left over the past decade, mainly for Russia.
Like nowhere else, this place feels the impact of the seasons, being
very hot in summer and bitterly cold in winter. In cold weather they use
whatever comes to hand to heat their houses, mainly timber and dry dung.
Winter can be easier than summer. Karine Hakopian, a mother of three,
said, “Maybe nature will take pity on us and we will get a snowy winter.
Then we can melt the snow and there will be water for us and our
animals.”
Drinking water is worth more than gold here. Ohanes Margarian, a
40-year-old villager, told IWPR that water is brought into the village
once or twice a week in churns. “We can’t even drink an extra cup of
coffee, let alone have a hot meal,” he said. “Because of lack of water
we often have to eat dried food. I believe that the local authorities
are to blame that we live in such primitive conditions. They couldn’t
care less about us. This is a border village and they can’t be bothered
with it.”
That makes the hot season especially hard. Javan Manukian, the head of
the community, said that last summer they had been given irrigation
water on just three occasions, even though temperatures at that time of
year in the Ararat valley, where Vanand is located, can rise to 50
degrees centigrade.
When the villagers asked the local authorities for help, they were told
they had to pay for the water. “And where can people get money from?”
Manukian asked. “There’s no work and no harvest. Take a look yourself,
all the trees in the peasants’ plots have withered. The peaches, apples
and grapes have gone because of the lack of water.
In 2003, the Armenian government adopted a programme on improving the
socio-economic condition of border villages with plans to provide them
with gas and water. Parandzem Karapetian, head of administration in the
Armavir mayor’s office, said, “We do what we can but our capacities are
limited.”
Meri Harutiunian, head of the Armenian government’s press office, said
that Vanand was on a list of border villages which were entitled to
government investment in a special programme due to begin next year. But
details of the plan are still sketchy.
The villagers say they have never had gas, but before independence in
1991 they at least did not have the mass unemployment they have now.
The bread factory worked properly and there were farms that employed
local people. Nowadays the bread factory works at five per cent of its
capacity and the farms are just memories.
A gas supply is just a distant dream. Shushan Sardarian, press secretary
of the gas company ArmRosgazprom, told IWPR, “Today we are laying gas
pipes in the towns and big villages of Armenia. Only when that is
completed can we begin to talk about gas supplies for outlying
villages.”
Karine Hakopian’s two school-age children, Arevik and Araik, go to
school ten kilometres away in the next village of Artamet on foot. If
the road is blocked by snow, they do not make it to school at all.
And even when they get there, it is hard to call it a school at all. It
is a collection of railway carriages, each holding a class, some with as
little as two pupils.
Some children in Vanand and Artamet do not go to school at all because
their parents can’t afford to clothe them. “My son hasn’t been going to
school since September,” said Ripsime Danielian. “My husband recently
went to work in Russia and he can’t help us at the moment. And the boy
is ashamed of going in old clothes. Never mind, he can help me round the
house for the time being and next year if things get better in our
family he can start his studies again.”
The Danielian family is, like most households in this village, headed by
the mother because the father is away in Russia, sending home occasional
remittances.
They get electricity once a day and sometimes less than that. “We’re
used to it,” said Ripsime. “We use wood-burning stoves. Though wood
costs money too, it’s hard for us to get it. Some people get help from
relatives, others get by somehow. We pass the long winter evenings by
kerosene lamps. It’s not so bad for us adults but I feel sorry for the
children who have to live in the dark. I don’t know who should answer
for the way we live in the Stone Age.”
Despite all the hardships of living in Vanand, IWPR found that people
are still planning to stay here. “Those who wanted to leave have already
done so. As for me, I’m not going anywhere,” said Seiran Muradian.
“A few times people have given my family the chance to move to the town
and offered them help with moving and finding a flat. But I can’t leave
the land where my ancestors are buried. And after all our village is
right on the border with Turkey. It’s like a wall and we are the
defenders of our country.”
“Our young men went off to war from here,” said a young woman named
Srbui. “Many of them didn’t come back. We put up memorials to them.
We are poor but at least the cemetery is well looked after. I love my
village and my neighbours and I hope that life will sort itself out
here. There ought to be a party one day on our street too.”
7 ARMENIA ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE LOAN FROM OPEC FUND FOR INTERNATIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
Source: ArmenPress, December 22, 2004
United Arab Emirates-chaired OPEC Fund for International Development
announced December 21 it approved loans worth a total of USD
157.4million at a recent board of governors meeting in the Fund’s Vienna
offices.
Jamal Nasser Lutah, the board’s chairman and assistant undersecretary of
Industry at the UAE Ministry of Finance and Industry (MOFI), unveiled
the details of the loans. He said: ‘The board has approved 17 loans
totaling $157.4 million to offer credit finance for projects in Angola,
Armenia, Bosnia, Congo, Jordan, Turkey and Turkmenistan.”
The loans are for as long as 20 years. The first five years offer a
grace period and the interest payable varies from 1 per cent to 1.75 per
cent.’
The announcement did not say how much Armenia is expected to get. The
Armenian finance and economy ministry said it did not discuss yet how
the loan could be used.
The OPEC Fund for International Development was established in January
1976 by the member countries of the Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC). The Fund was established to support
low-income countries in their efforts to make economic and social
progress. It aims to promote cooperation between member countries of
OEPC and other developing nations.
8 UNECE SEMINAR OF THE WORKING GROUP ON IWRM OF THE WATER CONVENTION
Dear Friends,
At the UNECE seminar on ecosystems as water suppliers (13-14 December
2004 in
Geneva)(),
the annexed draft decision on Integrated Management of Water Resources
for the 23rd session of the Governing Council of UNEP (Nairobi, Kenya,
21-25 February 2005) was given to the Swiss delegation for consideration
by the Mexican delegation.
Given the importance of water-related ecosystems for water management
that was demonstrated during the seminar Switzerland proposed to
distribute the draft decision to all of us, participants of this seminar
and the meeting Working Group on IWRM of the Water Convention that took
place on 15 December 2004.
As participant of mentioned seminars I just received e-mail from Sibylle
Vermont, Head of mentioned working group for comments to attached draft
documents.
If you are interested in providing comments you can send them to me. I
will collect them and send them to her.
They need your support on this decision. Our region has a lot of
experience on the relation of ecosystems and water. It is time now to
promote it to other regions and stimulate further work on the topic.
My personal opinion regarding to this document is positive and in order
to corporate it with the Statement of UNEP which is sent to you by me
two days ago I would suggest to add following comments:
– Importance for UNEP to work on the implementation of JPOI and EU water
– initiative and support:
– Development of IWRM plans in all countries;
– Actively support and promote involvment of civil society in this
process
You cal also add comments on transboundary(national level) issues like:
Support and promotion of upstream and downstream level data exchange,
dialoge and activity coordination;
Best regards and I wish you all Happy New Year!
Rafig Verdiyev,
ECORES
E- mail: rafig2000@mail.ru
9 USA AMBASSADOR IN AZERBAIJAN MR. RENO HARNISH EXPRESSED CONCERN ABOUT
THE EVENTS TAKEN PLACE IN AZERBAIJANI ADVOCACY
Dear Colleagues,
Please find the statement of USA Embassy in Azerbaijan concerning the
establishment of advocacy in Azerbaijan.
Statement of USA Embassy in Azerbaijan:
Ambassador in Azerbaijan Mr.doc
Intigam Aliyev,
Co-chairman of Azerbaijan Lawyers’ Forum
Tel.:(994 12) 498-81-75, 498-94-80
Mob.: (994 50) 204-70-10
Email: legal@azeri.com
Address: 199 Shamil Azizbeyov str, Apt. 7
AZ 1010, Baku, Azerbaijan
—
*******************************************
CENN INFO
Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN)
Tel: ++995 32 92 39 46
Fax: ++995 32 92 39 47
E-mail: info@cenn.org
URL:
–Boundary_(ID_1RZE/rRs+nyR/nQCWMvF9w)–