Kazakhstan to auction exploration rights to some oil, gas fieldsJanuary 17, 2014 - 16:25 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Energy-rich Kazakhstan plans to auction exploration rights to eight or nine oil and gas fields in the Central Asian nation this year, a senior official said, according to RIA Novosti. “Last year, after a certain period of moratorium, we announced tenders for three geological exploration blocks. This year we plan to announce a tender for another 8-9 blocks,” Oil and Gas Minister Uzakbai Karabalin said. Karabalin said the exploration work would help to further increase Kazakhstan’s resource base. Oil production in Kazakhstan reached 1.73 million barrels per day in 2012, according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2012. Kazakhstan produced 19.7 billion cubic meters of natural gas over the same period, according to BP figures. Related links: Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Viva sees growing demand for cloud services In recent years, medical institutions are starting to make use of Viva’s cloud services Turkey replacing term "Central Asia" with "Turkestan" in textbooks The Turkish Ministry of Education is replacing the term "Central Asia" with "Turkestan" in textbooks. Armenian, German presidents meet in Berlin Armenian and German Presidents Vahagn Khachaturyan and Frank-Walter Steinmeier met in Berlin. Armenia assumes presidency of Mediterranean Network of Regulatory Authorities The Commission on Television and Radio of Armenia said it expects productive cooperation in various formats. |