Translated material
LUKOIL is in trouble
Georgian authorities promise not to allow Vagit Alekperov to enter the Abkhaz shelf of the Black Sea
LUKOIL has become another bone of contention between Georgia and the unrecognized Republic of Abkhazia. As Abkhaz President Sergei Bagapsh recently stated, LUKOIL, “which has serious plans related to the oil field” in the republic, approached the regional authorities, and the company has already presented a specific work project. Yesterday, in response to these statements, the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Georgian Parliament, Gote Gabashvili, said that Georgia would not give Abkhazia the right to extract oil in the Black Sea.Back in 2001, LUKOIL President Vagit Alekperov stated that his company was interested in the shelves of the Azov and Black Seas. In 2003, it became known that LUKOIL, Rosneft, as well as the administration of the Krasnodar region created the Priazovneft joint venture for the exploration and development of a gas field on the shelf of the Azov Sea. The site development program envisages the start of drilling this year. The company has no projects in the Black Sea yet. According to preliminary data, oil reserves on the Georgian shelf of the Black Sea are estimated at 200 million tons.
Recently, information appeared in the Abkhaz media about the possible start of development of the Black Sea shelf in the area of the city of Ochamchira, located near the border of Georgia and Abkhazia. True, as the President of Abkhazia stated, the project presented by LUKOIL turned out to be unacceptable to the authorities. Yesterday LUKOIL was unable to confirm information about whether the company really plans to work on the Georgian shelf and whether it tried to agree on the terms of specific projects with the Abkhaz authorities.
However, Georgia does not intend to give Abkhazia the right to independently manage production in the water area. Yesterday, commenting on the possible plans of LUKOIL, Mr. Gabashvili said: “As for Russia, it will thereby (by negotiating with Abkhazia - Ed. ) violate the well-known agreement of the heads of state of the CIS and put an end to its peacekeeping mission." The head of the parliamentary committee noted that a similar decision was made earlier by the President of the National Bank of Georgia, Roman Gotsiridze, prohibiting other banks from operating in Abkhazia and threatening them with serious sanctions otherwise. “Exactly the same attitude will be towards oil producing companies. No one will be able to officially work there without the consent of the Georgian government,” said Mr. Gabashvili. As Nika Gvaramia, a member of the legal committee of the Georgian parliament, told reporters, he doubts that any country or company will agree to oil production in Abkhazia. “From the minute a Russian or any other company enters there, it will have serious problems in the oil market. There is a risk of losing here. This is a market that is very strictly controlled, and any insinuations in this case are excluded,” Interfax quotes him as saying.
Earlier it was reported that a consortium operated by the American Anadarko could soon begin oil production on the shelf, not far from the Georgian-Turkish border. The Adjarian president said that if this happens, the republic’s authorities “will not sit idly by” and will themselves develop oil fields in their waters.
In 2000, Anadarko Petroleum and the national company Gruzneft created the Anadarko Georgia JV, which received a 25-year license to search for and produce oil on the Black Sea shelf. This year, the composition of participants expanded: BP got 28.5% in the project, Anadarko Georgia - 48%, in addition, the project included Turkish Petroleum Overseas - 13.5% and Unocal - 10%.