A total of 66 cooperation agreements worth over $2 billion were signed between Kazakhstan and Iran during Nazarbayev’s recent visit to Iran, as the two countries also agree to establish a joint shipping company in order to boost bilateral trade through the Iranian port of Bandar Anzali and the Kazakh port of Aktau. With the US considering easing curbs on the use of dollars in deals with Iran, Italy and Norway are also becoming involved with projects in Iran’s energy sector.

Kazakhstan and Iran sign agreements worth more than $2 billion

A total of 66 cooperation agreements were signed between Kazakhstan and Iran during Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s visit to Iran.

Speaking at a briefing after a meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in Tehran, the Kazakh leader said that the sum of the agreements exceeded $2 billion.

According to Nazarbayev, the agreements were signed in the metallurgical and mining industries, the agricultural sector, transport and logistics, tourism, science and education and the healthcare sector.

Iran and Kazakhstan to build joint shipping company

Iran and Kazakhstan have agreed on the establishment of a joint shipping company.

The head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), Mohammad Saeidi, announced the news, noting that the two countries signed an agreement on the establishment of the joint shipping company in the presence of their presidents in Tehran.

Saeidi noted that the planned freight shipping line would boost bilateral trade through the Iranian port of Bandar Anzali and the Kazakh port of Aktau, both on the Caspian Sea.

Iran and Kazakhstan also decided to increase the volume of their rail transport through a railroad that links Iran, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.

Iran to construct 3 power plants in Kazakhstan

Bahman Salehi, the CEO of Iran Power and Water Equipment and Services Export Company known as SUNIR, announced that his company plans to build a wind power plant as well as 2 thermal power plants in Kazakhstan in 18 months.

“We penned a contract, at the value of $600 million, with the Kazakh Eurasia Invest Group, in this regard,” Salahi said on the side-lines of the Iran-Kazakhstan Business Council meeting in Tehran.

Kazakhstan has expressed high incentives to expanding trade ties with Iran and vowed to provide Iranian traders with any permit they need to start a business in Kazakhstan.

Investment agreement signed for TAPI pipeline

The shareholders of the TAPI Pipeline Company Limited (TPCL) signed an investment agreement in a ceremony witnessed by petroleum ministers and senior government officials of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, and senior Asian Development Bank (ADB) officials.

The investment agreement provides an initial budget of over $200 million to fund the next phase of the development of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) natural gas pipeline. This includes funding for detailed engineering and route surveys, environmental and social safeguard studies, and procurement and financing activities, to enable a final investment decision, after which construction can begin. Construction is estimated to take up to 3 years. .

Kazakhstan and Turkey consider joint projects

Kazakhstan and Turkey have discussed the possibility of strengthening their cooperation in the areas of trade, economy, investments, agriculture, cultural and humanitarian matters.

The discussions were held in Istanbul by Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

During the discussions, the parties pointed out the promising joint projects, the implementation of which may involve representatives of small and medium businesses from both countries.

Polymetal to buy gold deposit in Kazakhstan for $100 million

Polymetal has entered into a binding agreement with Kazzinc LTD, a subsidiary of Glencore PLC, for the acquisition of Orion Minerals LLP, the holding company for the Komarovskoye Gold Deposit in Kazakhstan.

The total consideration payable to Orion upon completion is $100 million in cash, which will be paid from Polymetal's existing cash balances and available credit facilities.

In addition, Kazzinc will receive a deferred consideration linked to future production from the Komarovskoye and future gold price performance. The royalty will be calculated on a quarterly basis, payable at gold prices above $1,250 per ounce, and capped at a total consideration of $80 million.

Kazakhstan considers participating in Doha oil negotiations

Kazakhstan has yet to decide whether to participate in the Doha meeting, which will bring together the world's major oil powers on April 17 in an effort to support oil prices.

The country's energy ministry confirmed that they have received an invitation to the event in the Qatari capital, but abstained from making any comments about Kazakhstan's decision in this regard.

The meeting between the OPEC members and countries outside the cartel is expected to develop a mechanism to freeze crude production to the level of January 2016, which will allow prices to rise for the second half of the year.

Kazakhstan’s Zhambyl looks for investors in renewables

The administration of the Kazakh region of Zhambyl is looking for foreign entities willing to invest in local solar and wind power projects, according to Governor Karim Kokrekbayev.

The region’s current industrialisation programme envisages the realisation of 13 projects in various industries in partnership with foreign investors. The governor said that officials have held about 50 meetings with such entities last year for investment projects.

In November 2015, Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna announced it has agreed with the United Green Group to double the capacity of a 50-MW solar plant in Zhambyl.

Italy set to build 500MW renewable energy power plants in Iran

Iran’s Deputy Energy Minister for Planning and Economic Affairs, Alireza Da’emi, has announced that Tehran and Rome signed an MOU on the construction of 500 megawatts (MW) worth of renewable energy power plants in Iran.

The planned projects will be completed in the next five years by Italian investing companies.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi arrived in Tehran on Tuesday morning for economic and political talks with senior Iranian officials and signed six cooperation agreements with Iran.

Renzi was accompanied by a 250-strong economic and political delegation. The visit by Renzi comes after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani visited Rome in late January, during which Iran and Italy signed billions of dollars’ worth of business deals in sectors ranging from energy to infrastructure, and steel to shipbuilding.

Norway to launch Iran’s first FLNG plan

Iran says it is working on a plan with a Norwegian company to build a floating facility to liquefy natural gas in the Persian Gulf.

Ali Kardor, the vice president for finance and investment affairs at the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), said that the project - technically referred to as FLNG - will be used to support Iran's exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe and the Far East.

Kardor added that the Norwegian company - which he did not name - will send a ship that will specialise in the same type of project to Iran's ports in the Persian Gulf by March 2017.

NIOC chief Rokneddin Javadi said last October that LNG is back on Iran's energy agenda, stressing that the country has devised serious plans to launch its first liquefaction project by April 2018.

US considering easing curbs on using dollars in deals with Iran

Obama administration officials are considering easing restrictions that prohibit U.S. dollars from being used in business deals with Iran to ensure Tehran gets the economic relief promised under its nuclear deal with world powers.

The move has not been officially announced but was disclosed to Reuters and the Associated Press on March 31 by anonymous officials, who said the Treasury Department is considering allowing banks outside the United States to have limited access to the U.S. currency to support legitimate business deals with Iran.

The move would likely help Iran's troubled economy. Tehran has complained that continuing U.S. restrictions on banks have prevented it from getting the full benefits of economic relief that were supposed to come from the lifting of nuclear-related sanctions in January.

Petronas to drill first well at Turkmenistan's Caspian basin field

The Malaysian company Petronas Carigali, which is active in the Turkmen energy market, will soon start drilling the first well at the Garagol Deniz West field located in the Turkmen sector of the Caspian Sea.

Turkmenistan’s Oil and Gas and Natural Resources Ministry reported that the development of another promising section of the contract area promises a significant increase in the production of hydrocarbon raw materials.

Petronas Carigali became the first foreign company engaged in the development of the Turkmen shelf of the Caspian Sea in accordance with the 25-year Production Sharing Agreement in the Block 1 Contract Area signed in 1996.

The total area of the contract territory is about 1,467 square kilometres, which includes the Diyarbakir, Magtymguly, Ovez, Mashrykov and Garagol Deniz fields, included in the Block 1 contract area.

ADB to allocate $1 billion to Turkmenistan

The planned loan programme of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for Turkmenistan for 2016-2017 is estimated at $1 billion and will be directed to projects including the development of railway corridors, and the production and supply of electricity.

The ADB has supported the country's national development programme since the start of its cooperation with Turkmenistan in 2000, according to the Director General of the ADB's Central and West Asia Department, Sean O'Sullivan.

"The current project supported by the ADB on the North-South railway is a good example for our partnership with Turkmenistan," he added.

This project supports the expansion and improvement of the railway system, which links Turkmenistan with Kazakhstan and Iran, improves the movement of passengers and goods and helps to expand regional trade.

Arab company builds solar power station in Uzbekistan

The UAE’s Enesol Group has completed the construction of the largest mobile solar power plant in Uzbekistan.

This solar plant is the next step in tapping the country’s renewable resources. The plant has a capacity of 1.2 megawatt and will power a natural gas field and construction site located near Bukhara city and owned by Lukoil.

Electricity production at the plant reaches 5 million kilowatt-hours during daylight, and 1,000 kilowatt-hours during night time. This volume is enough to provide electricity to a town of 1,500 residents.

The number of sunny days in Uzbekistan is over 300 days and the country’s annual potential for solar energy is about 51 million tonnes of oil equivalent.

Uzbekistan to spend $600 million on food industry development

The development programme approved by the country's leadership includes 180 investment projects for the construction of new enterprises, as well as the reconstruction and modernisation of existing enterprises.

The programme will be financed through the funds of enterprises, loans from Uzbek banks and foreign direct investments.

According to the Uzbek Economy Ministry, the programme implementation will increase exports of fresh and processed fruits and vegetables by more than 2.7 times and use about 200 kinds of new products.

Some 15 trade and logistics centres with a total capacity of 60,000 tonnes, specialising in the processing, storage and transportation of fresh and processed fruits and vegetables, are planned as part of the export intensification.