After numerous delays, the ground breaking of the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India gas pipeline will finally be held in Turkmenistan on Sunday. Meanwhile, Iran is considering Kazakhstan as its destination for enriched uranium under the conditions of the recent Iran deal, and Tajikistan has developed a project aimed at constructing a power transmission line from Tajikistan to China, through which it could supply up to 6 billion kWh of electricity per year to the energy-hungry powerhouse.

Ground breaking of delayed TAPI gas pipeline set for Sunday in Turkmenistan

The ground breaking ceremony for the $7.6 billion Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) gas pipeline will finally be held on Sunday in Turkmenistan.

Turkmenistan’s state company Turkmengaz will lead the consortium building the 1800km pipeline carrying gas from the former Soviet state to energy-hungry India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The pipeline will carry gas from Turkmenistan’s Galkynysh field, better known by its previous name South Yoiotan Osman, which holds gas reserves of 16 trillion cubic feet. From the field, the pipeline will run to Herat and the Kandahar province of Afghanistan, before entering Pakistan, where it will reach Multan via Quetta, before ending at Fazilka, in Punjab, India.

Kazakh Karachaganak field expansion expected by 2018

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy expects that the investment decision on the expansion project of the Karachaganak oil and gas field will be made by 2018, said the Deputy Energy Minister Magzum Mirzagaliev. It is also expected that the design of the Karachaganak field will be completed by the same year.

Discovered in 1979, the Karachaganak field is one of the largest gas condensate fields in the world, and accounts for around 49% of Kazakhstan’s gas production and 18% of the country’s oil production.

Largest Kazakh national holdings may be liquidated

The Samruk Kazyna, Baiterek and KazAgro national holdings will be featured in the new privatisation programme, after which they will either be transformed into lean organisations or liquidated, according to the Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

The assets of the Samruk-Kazyna national welfare fund include: the KazMunaiGas national oil and gas company, the Kazakhstan Temir Zholy railway operator, Kazakhstan Electricity Grid Operating Company (KEGOC), Kazakhtelecom telecommunications operator, and the Kazatomprom national nuclear company.

The Baiterek national management holding includes: JSC Development Bank of Kazakhstan, JSC Investment Fund of Kazakhstan, JSC Housing Construction and Savings Bank, JSC Kazakhstan Mortgage Company, JSC KazExportGarant, JSC Entrepreneurship Development Fund Damu, JSC National Agency for Technological Development, JSC Kazakh Fund of Mortgage Guarantees, JSC Kazyna Capital Management, JSC Baiterek Development, and JSC Public Private Partnership Advisory Center.

The KazAgro National management holding includes: the National company Food Contract Corporation JSC, KazAgroProduct JSC, KazAgroFinance JSC, Agrarian credit corporation JSC, Fund for Financial Support of Agriculture JSC, KazAgroGarant JSC and Kazagromarketing JSC.

Tajikistan plans to supply electricity to China

Tajikistan has developed an investment project aimed at constructing a power transmission line from Tajikistan via Sary-Tash, in Kyrgyzstan, to the Ulugqat County in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

According to Tajikistan’s State Committee on Investment and State-Owned Property Management (GosKomInvest), Tajikistan plans to supply surplus electricity following the construction of large- and medium-sized hydropower plants on the Vakhsh River. The project reportedly provides for the construction of a 550km, 500V power transmission line.

The estimated construction budget for the power transmission line is $160 million and Tajik power engineering specialists say that Tajikistan could supply up to 6 billion kWh of electricity per year via this line.

Iran is considering Kazakhstan as its destination for enriched uranium

In order to comply with the nuclear technology deal reached in July, Iran is obliged to ship out or otherwise get rid of all uranium enriched to more than 5% if it is not used for a civilian research reactor in Tehran.

As such, Iran is looking at Kazakhstan as a destination for the uranium that it cannot keep, with the US helping to broker the arrangement.

Much of the talk thus far has been for Russia to serve as the destination for the highly enriched uranium. However, given Russia’s current frosty relations with the West, the selection of Kazakhstan would be shrewd.

Rosatom and Kazakhstan mull nuclear plant construction

The Russian state atomic energy corporation Rosatom and Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry may soon sign an intergovernmental agreement on the construction of a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan.

The Russian company Rosatom International Network, a subsidiary of Rosatom, recently opened a regional office in Astana. Its activity will cover Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Mongolia. Its main objective is to make the preliminary preparations for the first nuclear power plant construction project in Kazakhstan.

However, Japanese companies are also among the contenders for the construction of a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan, an issue that was discussed during Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s recent visit to Astana.

The first plans to build the nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan were announced in 1998. However, this idea was perceived negatively within Kazakhstan and, as a result, all work on the development of the nuclear power plant construction project ceased.

Nevertheless, eight years later in November 2006 the government adopted a resolution for preparations for the construction of a nuclear power plant in the Mangystau region to go ahead.

ADB provides $1.2 billion grant to support Afghanistan’s energy security

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved $1.2 billion in grants to reinforce ongoing energy projects in Afghanistan and to provide new funds to boost energy supply, improve power sector efficiency, and promote cross-border energy trade.

The grants include $750 million from the ADB’s Special Funds resources, and up to $450 million from the Afghanistan Infrastructure Trust Fund, which will be administered by the ADB. The funds will be disbursed in multiple tranches, with the first $275 million scheduled for release in 2015. The remaining tranches are expected to follow through to 2025.

In the first stage, the ADB will fund the last missing links for an expanded Turkmenistan-Afghanistan power interconnection, allowing the country to increase electricity imports for year-round supplies from its neighbour. This will include the construction of over 300km of a 500 kilovolt (kV) transmission line connecting Sheberghan to Dashte Alwan, and over 60km of a 220kV line from Andkhoy to Sheberghan.

Subsequent assistance will focus on further transmission network upgrades, as well as on support for domestic renewable energy projects and measures to boost both domestic gas production and imports via the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline.

Kazakhstan sees Kashagan oil field output at 13 million tonnes by 2020

Oil production at the Caspian offshore field Kashagan is expected to reach 13 million tonnes per year by 2020, according to the Kazakh Deputy Energy Minister Magzum Mirzagaliyev.

“Pipelines are being replaced at Kashagan slightly ahead of schedule, at the end of 2016 the restart of commercial production is expected and by 2020 output will reach 13 million tonnes,” Mirzagaliyev stated at a government meeting.

Kashagan is a large oil and gas field located in the north of the Caspian Sea. Kashagan’s geological reserves are estimated at 4.8 billion metric tonnes of oil.

Production at the Kashagan field started in September 2013, but was ceased in October following a gas leak in one of the main pipelines. Analysis revealed numerous cracks in the pipeline, which needed to be completely replaced.