NIYAZOV APPOINTS NEW DEPUTY CHAIRMAN FOR OIL AND

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ASHGABAT 000764

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN (BICKEL)

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ECON PINR EPET TX
SUBJECT: NIYAZOV APPOINTS NEW DEPUTY CHAIRMAN FOR OIL AND
GAS AT JULY 10 CABINET MEETING


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SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) President Niyazov, accompanied by two deputy
chairmen of the Cabinet of Ministers and the Minister of
Foreign Affairs, held an expanded Cabinet of Ministers
meeting on July 10. The president encouraged brevity with
the numerous briefings he heard during the edited televised
meeting that lasted more than three hours. In addition to
appointing only the second new Deputy Chairman in over two
years, Niyazov's agenda included decisions on cultural,
educational, agricultural, pension, oil and gas and
budgetary issues, and an agenda for the annual Halk
Maslahaty (People's Council) meeting on October 25. End
Summary.

Personnel Issues
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2. (SBU) Taking advantage of the Wheat Harvest Festival
to request the attendance of the entire government, down to
the district governor level, Niyazov seated his cabinet to
his right at a table on a stage in front of his 260 member
audience. (Note: When he conducts these larger cabinet
sessions, Niyazov typically sits behind a desk and arrays
the cabinet at a separate table. End Note.) During the
meeting, Niyazov appointed Minister of Justice Ashyrgeldi
Gulgarayev as Rector of Turkmen State University and dean of
the new international arbitration court department. (Note:
Gulgarayev has no formal legal training; he also keeps his
position as Minister of Justice. End Note.) Niyazov
elevated Minister of Oil and Gas and Mineral Resources
Gurbanmyrat Atayev to Deputy Chairman for Oil and Gas.
Niyazov said he had had to observe Atayev's work as minister
(appointed December 15, 2005),before he could appoint him
head of such a big sector. Atayev was instructed to oversee
the development of the National Energy Policy, including the
Petroleum Development Plan through 2020: production and
processing of oil, liquefied gas, polypropylene and
polyethylene.

Halk Maslahaty Agenda Set
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3. (SBU) Niyazov announced the October 25 Halk Maslahaty
(People's Council) meeting and the following agenda:

-- Development of the fuel-energy sector: Deputy Chairman
Atayev will present the National Energy Policy that includes
free natural gas and electricity supplies to citizens until

2020. The Halk Maslahaty will also "discuss" the price of
gas and foreign gas markets. (Comment: Niyazov clearly
wants to show the people's support for his unilateral
decisions in the gas industry. End Comment.)

-- Prisoners' amnesty: Niyazov previously said that 10,000
prisoners will be amnestied this year. Although no new
number was given at the meeting, he said that a committee
was creating a list of petty criminals who have made
restitution to their victims to be considered for release by
the Halk Maslahaty.

-- Elections: The president confirmed the December district
(etrap) governor elections.

Other Decisions: Niyazov Sees Trees, Not Forest
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4. (U) The following decisions were also made at the
meeting:

-- Library Closures: Niyazov ordered the merger of village
(gengesh) libraries with village cultural centers, but said
he would maintain district and regional level libraries.
(Comment: This is not necessarily a bad thing, the village
libraries were understocked and underused - a remnant of the
Soviet system; district-level libraries are more rational.
End Comment.) Minister of Culture and Rector for Turkmen
Institute of Culture Enebay Atayeva reported that 43 of the
country's 88 libraries will be closed and that 350
"librarians" will be fired, leaving 108 national librarians.

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Niyazov also instructed Atayeva to close the library science
department at the Institute of Culture. (Comment: This, on
the other hand, is a bad development. End Comment.)

-- Expanded Student Body: Deputy Chairman Berdimuhammedov
reported increases in the number of students admitted to
both the Turkmen Polytechnic Institute oil and gas
department and the National Institute of Sport and Tourism
(to support the new Olympic sports training facility).

-- Budget in the Black: In summary, the state budget for
the first half of 2006 exceeded budget projections by 9%
with a total revenue of $2.1 billion at the official 5,200
manats/dollar exchange rate. Four of the five welayets
collected their planned revenues - only Dashoguz was
delinquent. Niyazov also said that state salaries were paid
on time during the reporting period. A complete analysis of
the comprehensive budget review will follow septel.

Biographic Note
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5. (SBU) Atayev's ascendance to Deputy Chairmanship of the
critical Oil and Gas Sector is the most interesting aspect
of this meeting. Almost a year after former Chairman Yolly
Gurbanmuradov was purged and thrown in prison on massive
corruption charges, and following months of additional
purges and a complete reorganization of the oil and gas
sector, making it more centralized and subordinate to the
president, Atayev is the first personality to emerge as a
credible bureaucrat. Charge has met with Atayev and found
him to be an intelligent experienced oil and gas expert who
conducts himself with authority and confidence. For months,
there literally has been "no one home" at the oil and gas
ministry and all negotiations have been conducted by Niyazov
himself. This is not likely to change, but Atayev has
emerged as the relative winner following the purges. He
also is only the second official to be appointed to fill a
Deputy Chairmanship for over two years. (Note: Guychnazar
Tachnazarov served as Deputy Chairman for Oil and Gas for
five months in 2005, mostly as a non-entity, before he was
purged, tried and convicted of embezzlement. End Note.).
Atayev's biography follows:

Gurbanmyrat Atayev
Deputy Chairman of Cabinet Ministers
Minister of Oil and Gas Industry and Mineral Resources


Born: 1965, Magtymguly Gengeshlik, Wekilbazar Etrap, Mary

Education: Turkmen State Polytechnic Institute, 1989,
Majored as Engineer-Chemic-Technologist/Oil and Gas
Reprocessing Technologies

Professional Experience:

07/10/2006 Deputy Chairman of Cabinet of Ministers of
Turkmenistan in charge of oil and gas
industry

12/15/2005 Minister of Oil and Gas Industry and Mineral
Resources

12/06/05-04/20/06 Acting Chairman of the TurkmenGaz
[Turkmen Gas] State Concern

10/31/2005 First Deputy Minister of Oil and Gas Industry
and Mineral Resources

2003 Head of Dovletabat Gas Deposit

1993-2003 Dovletabat Gas Deposit [country's largest gas
deposit]
Worked his way up from a fourth category
operator to shift supervisor, senior
technologist, deputy head of the workforce in
charge of main production, senior
technologist of the enterprise, and finally
deputy head.
Comment

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5. (SBU) President Niyazov was generally upbeat during the
meeting and for the first time in recent memory did not
indulge in public humiliation of government officials. He
appeared more interested in attending to business than
orchestrating theatrics before he took his long holiday rest
at the Caspian Sea in preparation for his upcoming visit
with the President of Iran on July 24. His decisions
continued to show his remarkable micromanagement of every
aspect of life in Turkmenistan. End Comment.

BRUSH