October 10th, 2008
As reported by Reuters, Gazprom recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Kyrgyzstan which will help it buy a stake in Kyrgyz state-owned gas company Kyrgyzgaz, the state gas export monopoly. As the article notes
“…the memorandum was signed in Bishkek as part of Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to Kyrgyzstan and allowed the parties to work out principles of Gazprom’s participation in the privatization of Kyrgyzgaz.
The Kyrgyz government invited Gazprom to take part in the planned privatisation of Kyrgyzgaz and another state-owned company, Kyrgyzneftegaz, in February this year.
Kyrgyzstan, more known for its metals reserves, remains a small player on the Central Asian energy market, which is dominated by oil-rich Kazakhstan and gas exporter Turkmenistan.
It produces about 70,000 tonnes of oil and 30 million cubic metres of gas a year, but the government says there are sizeable unexplored hydrocarbon reserves.
The country’s proved reserves of natural gas are estimated at 6 billion cubic metres. By 2010, Kyrgyzstan is forecast to produce 40 million cubic metres of gas a year, Gazprom said.”
Focusing primarily on The New Seven Sisters - the largely state owned petroleum companies from the emerging world that have become key players in the oil & gas industry as identified by Carola Hoyos, Chief Energy Correspondent for The Financial Times - but spanning other nascent opportunities around the globe that may hold potential in the years ahead, Wildcats & Black Sheep is a place for the adventurous to contemplate & evaluate the emerging markets of tomorrow.