Gazprom Buys Kyrgyzgaz for $1 Plus Debt

Moscow Times ^ | Apr. 10 2014 15:26

[Olog-hai]

Russia’s top natural gas producer Gazprom has signed a deal to buy 100 percent of shares of Kyrgyzgaz for $1 and assumed the responsibility to repay $40 million of debt owed by the Kyrgyz gas producer, Itar-Tass reported.

Gazprom also pledged to invest no less than 20 billion rubles ($560 million) in the next 5 years in the Central Asian republic’s 700-kilometer gas distribution grid upgrades. …

[ken5050]

Good morning..It's early..I'm still sleepy..waiting for the coffee to brew..and I'm skimming the headlines..and read yours as...

Gazprom buys Kyrgyzstan for $1 plus debt

Seemed to make sense, given the way things are done in Russia these days..

[mosesdapoet]

You mean to tell me that there were no western interests willing to invest in what Kyrkgyistan has ? This is what happens when there’s a big bully on your block.

I keep saying this incursion into the Ukraine and also Moldovia by Putin is all about oil and natgas. Could somebody please do a map overlay of the oil shale finds in eastern Ukraine, and the areas of Ukraine “Russification” where Russian soldatens are or are in striking distance of “liberating” Ukrainian shale oil. Besides threatening the Polish and Romainian fields as well as finds along the Baltic sea.

[Jonty30]

That would suggest that Russian fields might not be as abundant as once thought.

[mosesdapoet]

In the News/Activism forum, on a thread titled Gazprom Buys Kyrgyzgaz for $1 Plus Debt, : To my suggestion that this “purchase” was bullied by the Russian Tzar Putin who owns a considerable ammount of Gazprom stock and we should look into the invasion of Ukraine because of its shale fields find Jonty30 wrote
“
That would suggest that Russian fields might not be as abundant as once thought.”
I replied;

You know you may have something there...

[Ben Ficklin]

There is that area called the Strategic Energy Ellipse, sometimes call the Gulf Caspian Ellipse. A vertical ellipse that extends from the Hormuz north into central Asia, and depending on how large you draw the ellipse could include Russian lands. In this area there is a sizable portion of the world's knows oil and gas reserves

So who controls the production and who controls the pipelines. Such as a pipeline from the Caspian, thru Georgia, and Turkey to the Mediterranean. Or, thru Afghanistan to the Pakistan coast(Pipelinestan).

And by boat, the choke points are Hormuz, the Suez for western bound, and Malacca for eastern bound.

[thackney]

It is a gas transportation and distribution company with a lot of debt. It is not a gas production company.

This purchase has been in the works for over a year.

http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=25576551

[thackney]

That would suggest that Russian fields might not be as abundant as once thought.

No, buying a gas pipeline company does not suggest that at all.

[thackney]

So why did Kyrgyzstan agree to sell a strategically important state company? The answer is simple. Its gas delivery network is in deplorable shape and requires huge capital investment. The country is strapped for cash and had no other means of funding. During the 22 years of Kyrgyzstan’s independence, KyrgyzGaz has only fallen further into disrepair. Instead of becoming profitable, the company incurred losses that were covered by the national budget. Misappropriated company funds paid for mansions and cars and were stashed in overseas bank accounts. Consequentially, payments to suppliers were routinely delayed. The embezzlement at all levels of the organisation had a number of logical consequences. Customers endured frequent service disruptions, the company became indebted, the infrastructure deteriorated and the number of gas related accidents increased. The continual payment delays caused Uzbekistan, the sole supplier of gas to Kyrgyzstan, to cut its supply at first and then turn off the tap completely. Bishkek then approached Moscow with an offer to sell shares in KyrgyzGaz. The sale of this strategic company thus arose primarily from concerns about energy security.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://journal-neo.org/2014/04/12/rus-gazprom-priros-ky-rgy-zgazom/

[Jonty30]

I wasn’t talking about the purchase of a gas company, but the annexation of Crimea.

[dfwgator]

They made them an offer they couldn’t refuse.

[thackney]

Crimea is deep water port access.

There is a reason the Ukraine is a major natural gas importer.

[mosesdapoet]

In the News/Activism forum, on a thread titled Gazprom Buys

Kyrgyzgaz for $1 Plus Debt, thackney wrote:
It is a gas transportation and distribution company with a lot of debt. It is not a gas production company.

Thanks for the response and imput, as allways valuable.

ie It was a pipeline outfit not a producer. With no wells, refining, or compressing capability. A pipline with perhaps some trucks not paying their bills to their supplier which is Gazprom ? Who will split the $1.00 amonst its investors probably the state. Any Russian money in this “deal”? If not each investor can get a copy of that “buck”,frame it, and hang it on their wall.

What’s the estimated yield on the eastern Ukrainian field where the Ruskys are taking over ? Will that cover the beating Gazprom took with this deal ?

[SamAdams76]

Hopefully they have some money left over to buy some vowels.

[mosesdapoet]

Didn’t see your later posting
Oh Uzbekistan was the sole supplier for Kirgyland, and Gazprom is supposed to pay the Kirgy debt to the Uzbeks ? Time to move the troops...Debt paid