KAZAKHSTAN: WILL KAZTRANSGAS LEAVE GEORGIA?

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 000531 SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN, EUR/CARC, EEB/ESC STATE PLEASE PASS TO USTDA FOR DAN STEIN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV ECON EPET EINV KZ SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: WILL KAZTRANSGAS LEAVE GEORGIA? REF: (A) TBILISI 0529 (B) ASTANA 2081 ASTANA 00000531 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. SUMMARY: This report provides a Kazakhstani perspective on the management changes to KazTransGas-Tbilisi (KTG-Tbilisi) reported in reftel A. It is derived entirely from open source material. On March 16, the Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission appointed the Chief of Security Department of the Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation (GOGC) to serve as interim manager in KazTransGas-Tbilisi (KTG-Tbilisi),which allegedly incurred a $47.9-million debt to GOGC. KTG-Tbilisi, which is wholly owned by national oil company KazMunaiGas (KMG),in turn complained that residents of Tbilisi have not paid for more than $30 million of natural gas already delivered. GOGC's interim manager will remain in charge until KTG-Tbilisi clears its debts. In the meantime, KTG-Tbilisi will retain ownership of its assets in Georgia. END SUMMARY. GEORGIA TAKES OVER MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY ¶2. The Director General of KTG-Tbilisi, Sanzhar Shokatayev, promised to cooperate with the new Georgian management, ensuring that "this decision has nothing to do with politics, and there can be no talks about seizure of property." Nevertheless, he was skeptical of the decision, saying, "I doubt that a new management can change the situation." According to the Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission (GNERC),KTG-Tbilisi has debts of $47.9 million, of which $40.7 million is owed to GOGC. A DISTRESSED ASSET ¶3. In May 2006, KazTransGas bought the natural gas distribution company Tbilgas for $12.5 million, including 2,400 kilometers of gas pipeline and associated transportation and distribution infrastructure. Although Tbilgas had no debt when KazTransGas made its acquisition, its distribution network was built during the Soviet era and was rapidly deteriorating. During its first year of operation, the company incurred significant losses of natural gas due to leaky gas pipelines and outright theft. In 2006, losses totaled 42 percent of total gas consumed, but this was reduced to 13 percent by August 2008, partly due to a new partnership with U.S.-based Climate Capital Change. KAZTRANSGAS INSISTS INVESTMENT WILL PAY DIVIDENDS ¶4. KazTransGas said on March 25 that it has invested more than $100 million in KTG-Tbilisi to buy new meters, construct new gas distributing stations, purchase equipment for the technical diagnosis of gas pipes, and develop technical staff. In its first year of operation, KTG-Tbilisi revenue totaled $26.5 million; two years later, revenue tripled to $75 million. KTG-Tbilisi annually sells more than 300 million cubic meters of gas to 300,000 Tbilisi residents and 5,000 companies, which comprise 37% of the Georgian gas market. KAZTRANSGAS CONSIDERING INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION ¶5. On March 25, KazTransGas announced that it is reviewing a Georgian court decision to replace the company's management and may go to international arbitration to appeal the ruling. On March 16, a city court in Kutaisi endorsed GNERC's decision that day to appoint a special administrator to run KazTransGas-Tbilisi. The court ruling was made without company representatives present. In a press statement, KazTransGas said it "finds the decision of the regulator invalid and the steps it took premature and unjustified." KazTransGas said it had not violated its licensing agreement and announced that it will review the court decision to determine whether it constitutes a breach of contract. KTG said it may ultimately file an appeal with an international arbitration court, although KMG President Kairgeldy Kabyldin said on March 25 that Kazakhstan would prefer to settle the dispute out of court. "We have no desire to initiate litigation," he said at a press conference. "We have a well-grounded position and we acknowledge ASTANA 00000531 002.2 OF 002 the mutual obligations." Kabyldin claimed that KMG's Georgian partners failed to fulfill their obligations. "They first cited the elections, then the war, as reasons not to raise gas rates. As a result, (KTG-Tbilisi) began experiencing financial problems and accumulated debt that we acknowledge, although it cannot be settled immediately, as Georgia wants," he said. KAZTRANSGAS READY TO LEAVE GEORGIA ¶6. Despite early optimism about the company's prospects, Shokatayev, speaking in October 2008, did not rule out the possibility that parent company KMG might sell KTG-Tbilisi if it needed "quick money." On March 25, KMG President Kabyldin confirmed that intention. He told local press in Astana, "We are ready to sell Tbilgas, if our investment contributions, including debt financing and financial support, are paid back." Kabyldin also promised that KTG-Tbilisi would repay its debts to Georgian companies according to "a certain time-schedule." He said KTG-Tbilisi will use funds from Tbilisi clients to settle its debt for $30 million for gas supplied to the company. According to Kabyldin, the remaining $10 million is owed to a Georgian bank, which has demanded expedited payment, which Kabyldin said "runs counter to our bilateral agreement with the bank." A SOCAR SQUEEZE PLAY? ¶7. Kabyldin ruled out the possibility that there may be a political motive behind the dispute, such as plans by the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) to squeeze KMG out of the Georgian market. "I don't believe that someone intends to drive a wedge between KazMunayGas and SOCAR," he said, noting that cooperation between the two national oil companies is increasing. "We have agreed with SOCAR on Baku-Ceyhan and we have a plan to boost transit shipment via Baku-Batumi," he added. However, he noted somewhat ruefully that KazTransGas' losses increased sharply due to the price increase for gas from SOCAR. "If they really want to help Georgia, why sell gas to Georgia at such a horrendously high price? SOCAR sells gas to Russia and Ukraine at $280 per thousand cubic meters, while it offers gas to Georgia at $400 per thousand cubic meters. This is ridiculous," he said, "such a price does not exist." Kabyldin emphasized that both Azerbaijan and Georgia are interested in the transit of Kazakhstani oil. "Georgia, Kazakhstan, and SOCAR are all interested in the transportation of Kazakhstani oil though their pipelines. This will yield bigger returns than a one-time profit from reselling KazTransGas-Tbilisi and ousting KazMunaiGas from Georgia," he said. ¶8. KTG-Tbilisi has struggled with nonpayment from corporate and residential customers. In addition, the company has had tense relations with political parties and non-governmental organizations in Tbilisi, particularly when it forced customers to settle their debts and raised gas tariffs. On December 9, 2008, the leader of the Georgian Labor Party, Paata Jibladze, accused KTG-Tbilisi of forcing Tbilisi residents to replace old meters with new ones at their own expense. At a press conference, he said, "We demand that the actual owner of KazTransGas, Nursultan Nazarbayev, withdraw his company from Georgia, so that the residents of Tbilisi can manage this strategic object on their own." MILAS