Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08ASHGABAT1137
2008-08-28 12:19:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Ashgabat
Cable title:
MARATHON PATIENTLY KEEPING LINES OF COMMUNICATION
how-toVZCZCXRO0605 PP RUEHAG RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHLH RUEHPW RUEHROV DE RUEHAH #1137 2411219 ZNY CCCCC ZZH P 281219Z AUG 08 FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1436 INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 4217 RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 2029 RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 1894 RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL PRIORITY 2465 RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC PRIORITY RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC PRIORITY RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE PRIORITY 2825 RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L ASHGABAT 001137
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SCA/CEN; EEB
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/27/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL EPET EINV TX
SUBJECT: MARATHON PATIENTLY KEEPING LINES OF COMMUNICATION
OPEN WITH TURKMEN ENERGY OFFICIALS
REF: A. ASHGABAT 0741
B. ASHGABAT 1131
Classified By: Charge Sylvia Reed Curran for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
C O N F I D E N T I A L ASHGABAT 001137
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SCA/CEN; EEB
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/27/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL EPET EINV TX
SUBJECT: MARATHON PATIENTLY KEEPING LINES OF COMMUNICATION
OPEN WITH TURKMEN ENERGY OFFICIALS
REF: A. ASHGABAT 0741
B. ASHGABAT 1131
Classified By: Charge Sylvia Reed Curran for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
1. (C) Marathon Oil Company Vice President Declan O'Byrne
and several of his colleagues on August 27 provided Charge
with an update on their negotiations with the government.
They had given a presentation to a core group of Turkmen oil
and gas experts the day before on the joint project
definitional study for a specific onshore field and refinery
project that they proposed some months ago (Ref. A). The
company representatives were planning to reconvene with the
same group on August 28 in the hopes of getting some feedback
on the plan. After the August 26 meeting, government
officials requested that Marathon send one or two
representatives to the September 9-10 Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan
oil and gas conference in Baku. The officials indicated that
the Marathon representatives are being invited by the Turkmen
side. Marathon will likely attend.
2. (C) O'Byrne said that Marathon now has a local
representative in Ashgabat, and is optimistic that an office
can be opened here as well before the end of the year.
Senior Marathon officials continue to perceive that Turkmen
government officials are actively mulling over the question
of allowing foreign oil and gas companies to work onshore.
With little certainty regarding when or how the company will
move to the next step in the negotiating process,
representatives were convinced that sponsoring and delivering
a presentation at the November 2008 TIOGE conference will
provide another opportunity to get the company's name and its
expertise in front of senior oil and gas officials.
3. (C) COMMENT: Marathon representatives are doing
whatever they can to simultaneously educate their Turkmen
interlocutors on the technical details of their proposal
while also promoting it. They seem to be optimistic that the
government will soon drop its opposition to onshore work for
foreign energy companies. In fact, embassy has been hearing
from a growing number of companies, most recently Chevron
(septel) that the government has expressed a willingness to
start negotiations for foreign work onshore. Even with the
unexpected August 27 shake-up of Turkmenistan's hydrocarbon
leadership (Ref. B),we expect that Marathon, too, will be
invited to bid onshore soon. END COMMENT.
CURRAN
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SCA/CEN; EEB
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/27/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL EPET EINV TX
SUBJECT: MARATHON PATIENTLY KEEPING LINES OF COMMUNICATION
OPEN WITH TURKMEN ENERGY OFFICIALS
REF: A. ASHGABAT 0741
B. ASHGABAT 1131
Classified By: Charge Sylvia Reed Curran for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
1. (C) Marathon Oil Company Vice President Declan O'Byrne
and several of his colleagues on August 27 provided Charge
with an update on their negotiations with the government.
They had given a presentation to a core group of Turkmen oil
and gas experts the day before on the joint project
definitional study for a specific onshore field and refinery
project that they proposed some months ago (Ref. A). The
company representatives were planning to reconvene with the
same group on August 28 in the hopes of getting some feedback
on the plan. After the August 26 meeting, government
officials requested that Marathon send one or two
representatives to the September 9-10 Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan
oil and gas conference in Baku. The officials indicated that
the Marathon representatives are being invited by the Turkmen
side. Marathon will likely attend.
2. (C) O'Byrne said that Marathon now has a local
representative in Ashgabat, and is optimistic that an office
can be opened here as well before the end of the year.
Senior Marathon officials continue to perceive that Turkmen
government officials are actively mulling over the question
of allowing foreign oil and gas companies to work onshore.
With little certainty regarding when or how the company will
move to the next step in the negotiating process,
representatives were convinced that sponsoring and delivering
a presentation at the November 2008 TIOGE conference will
provide another opportunity to get the company's name and its
expertise in front of senior oil and gas officials.
3. (C) COMMENT: Marathon representatives are doing
whatever they can to simultaneously educate their Turkmen
interlocutors on the technical details of their proposal
while also promoting it. They seem to be optimistic that the
government will soon drop its opposition to onshore work for
foreign energy companies. In fact, embassy has been hearing
from a growing number of companies, most recently Chevron
(septel) that the government has expressed a willingness to
start negotiations for foreign work onshore. Even with the
unexpected August 27 shake-up of Turkmenistan's hydrocarbon
leadership (Ref. B),we expect that Marathon, too, will be
invited to bid onshore soon. END COMMENT.
CURRAN