Protracted conflicts in the GUAM area and their implications for international peace, security and development to be discussed at the UN General Assembly session on 7 December 2006

MEDIA AZERI BROADCASTING COUNCIL CLOSES ANS TV AND ANS CM RADIO AZERI TV WATCHDOG JUSTIFIES DECISION TO TAKE PRIVATE COMPANY OFF AIR CLOSED AZERI BROADCASTER APPEALS TO PRESIDENT FOR HELP OSCE OFFICE CONDEMNS CLOSURE OF PRIVATE TV BROADCASTER IN AZERBAIJAN MOST POPULAR AZERI COMMERCIAL BROADCASTER TAKEN OFF AIR COURT RULES TO EVICT AZERI OPPOSITION DAILY PRESIDENT'S REACTION TO MEDIA SITUATION REPORT FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS AUTHORITIES SHUT DOWN TV STATION AND EVICT TWO NEWSPAPERS AND NEWS AGENCY IN CRACKDOWN ON INDEPENDENT MEDIA OSCE OFFICE PRESENTS REPORT ON AZERBAIJAN'S PUBLIC BROADCASTER BELIEVERS ENRAGED BY ANTI-ISLAMIC PUBLICATION EU-AZERBAIJAN COOPERATION PRESIDENT BARROSO AND THE PRESIDENT OF AZERBAIJAN SIGN A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING ON ENERGY PARTNERSHIP EU'S BARROSO PRAISES AZERBAIJAN AS KEY ALLY EU SIGNS ACCORDS WITH THREE CAUCASUS NATIONS BILATERAL RELATIONS PUTIN AND ALIYEV MEET IN MOSCOW PRESIDENTS OF AZERBAIJAN AND RUSSIA HOLD TALKS AZERBAIJAN AND RUSSIAN DIPLOMATIC EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS TO HAVE JOINT PROJECTS AZERBAIJAN, UAE SIGN CO-OP PAPERS IRAN, AZERBAIJAN TO START PARALLEL POWER GRID OPERATION TURKIC LEADERS COMMIT TO FURTHERING TIES more AZERBAIJAN INTRODUCES TOUGHER PENALTIES FOR CORRUPTION more NAGORNO KARABAKH CONFLICT FOREIGN MINISTERS OPTIMISTIC ON GARABAGH TALKS INTERVIEW OF PRESIDENT ILHAM ALIYEV TO AZERBAIJAN NATIONAL TELEVISION AZERBAIJAN, ARMENIA NEAR FINAL TALKS ON DISPUTED REGION GLOBAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2006 WORLD WATER AND SANITATION CRISIS URGENTLY NEEDS A GLOBAL ACTION PLAN MEDIA COVERAGE IN AZERBAIJAN UN NEWS THE STATE CUSTOMS COMMITTEE PRESENTS THE DRAFT OF AZERBAIJAN'S NEW CUSTOMS CODE BASED ON EU STANDARDS CHILDREN'S COURTS TO OPEN IN AZERBAIJAN NEXT YEAR UNFPA HELD A CONFERENCE ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN UNHCR DEPLORES FORCED RETURN OF REFUGEE BY AZERBAIJAN IOM AND UNDP TRANSFORM THEIR JOINT PROJECT INTO A COMMUNITY MICRO-FINANCE INSTITUTION IN NAKHCHIVAN OIL & GAS FIRST OIL FROM EAST AZERI REACHES SANGACHAL TERMINAL AZERBAIJAN: COPING WITH THE OIL WINDFALL CASPIAN OIL MYTH CRASHES AS EXXON SHUTS BAKU OFFICE EBRD - AZERBAIJAN AZERBAIJAN TOPS GLOBAL GROWTH - EBRD ENHANCING ACCESS TO FINANCE FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES EBRD LENDS TO PROMOTE ENERGY SECTOR REFORM IN AZERBAIJAN EBRD EXPANDS MICROFINANCE IN AZERBAIJAN EBRD TRANSITION REPORT 2006: DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION DRIVES GROWTH IN EASTERN EUROPE ECONOMY CORRUPTION SURVEY PLACES BAKU AS 130TH AZERI BUDGET TRANSPARENCY LOW - STUDY INDUSTRIAL TOWN TO BE CONSTRUCTED IN AZERBAIJAN NEXT YEAR COMMUNICATION ALI ABBASOV ACCUSES THE ITU OF FAILING TO PERFORM ITS FUNCTION UPU GRANTS MORE PRIVILEGES TO AZERBAIJAN FOR ARMENIAN OCCUPATION CEREMONY ON GRANTING THE TITLE OF GOODWILL AMBASSADOR OF ISESCO TO MRS MEHRIBAN ALIYEVA, PRESIDENT OF THE FOUNDATION more PRESIDENT SIGNS ORDER SETTING UP STATE COMMISSION TO DEAL WITH PROBLEMS OF AZERBAIJANI CITIZENS ENGAGED IN RETAIL TRADE IN RUSSIA more   Download UNDP   Screen Saver   UNDP Azerbaijan Website:   www.un-az.org/undp/   Contact Information   Address:   3, UN 50th Anniversary str.   AZ 1001 Baku, Azerbaijan   Telephone:   (+99412) 4989888   Fax:   (+99412) 4983235   (+99412) 4922491   E-mail:   undpbulletin@un-az.org     To unsubscribe please click here CASPIAN OIL MYTH CRASHES AS EXXON SHUTS BAKU OFFICE CBN, November 10, 2006 BAKU - A fog is spreading over the mysterious oil reserves of Azerbaijan's Caspian sector as more companies shut down their operations in the country, U.S. oil juggernaut ExxonMobil announced this week that it was shutting down operations in Azerbaijan after it failed to find oil in offshore projects the company was leading. Unlike the operators of other offshore projects who shutdown at the end of the 1990s, when world oil prices fell below $15 per barrel, ExxonMobil has refused to continue to work on Zafar-Mashal and Nakhchivan oilfields at a moment when oil prices soar over $70. On Nov. 6 Exxon Azerbaijan Operating Company announced the closure of its offices in Azerbaijan at of Dec. 19, 2006. The company will accept appeals and complaints for a period of 60 days. Furthermore, the company will also close down local branches of Exxon Exploration and Production Azerbaijan Limited (as of Dec. 19, 2006), Mobil Assent Investments Limited and Exxon Exploration and Production Caspian Sea Limited (as of Nov. 22, 2006). According to information from the EAOC Baku office, the decision stemmed from failure in the first exploration drillings in Zafar Mashal and Nakhchivan fields. "The abovementioned companies were created as a contractor companies. However, the results of drilling showed that the exploitation of fields is not commercially viable," the company's representative Vafa Asadzadeh told CBN. Exxon Mobil has invested nearly $3 billion in oil projects in Azerbaijan since 1995. This total includes expenditures, on all of the company's projects in Azerbaijan: the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) project in which it has shares of 8.0006 percent, Zafar-Mashal - 30 percent, Nakhchivan - 50 percent, Oguz - 30 percent, Alov - 15 percent and Lerik-Deniz. However, Exxon Mobile, had problems in all projects, except ACG. The Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) for Zafar Mashal offshore structure was signed in April 1999 with Azeri State oil company -SOCAR , which owned 50 percent, while the U.S. ExxonMobil and US ConocoPhilips possessed 30 percent and 20 percent respectively. The bloc was discovered in 1961. According to the first exploration well, the bloc consist of 50 billion cubic meter of gas. Oil reserves were initially estimated at 140 million tons and development costs were estimated at $2 billion. In November 2003, the company started drilling the first well. ExxonMobil, through its participation in the rig club along with ChevronTexaco, ConocoPhillips and TotalFinaElf, ordered from Danish Maersk Constructors a $250 million Lider rig, (which is currently named after Hey-dar Aliyev), the Caspian's most powerful semi-submersible rig. However, EAOC squandered away some $150 million as an operator when it encountered serious problem during drilling of the first exploration well on the offshore Zafar Mashal prospective structure. In addition, the exploration of Oguz structures was halted in November 2003 as the project turned out not to be commercially viable. The first exploration well at the Nakhchivan structure turned out to be dry as well. Work in Nakhchivan was stopped in 2002 and work on the Alov structure has been halted since summer 2002 due to Iranian objections. Due to confusion over the legal status of the Caspian Sea, the exploration contract for Lerik-Deniz structures has also not yet gone into effect. The company says it has paid to SOCAR compensation for stopping work in Nakhchivan and Zafar-Mashal - $18 million and $32 million respectively. ExxonMobil is currently producing oil only at the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli fields, where the company has an 8 percent share. The U.S. company contracted Azpetrol's transport affiliate to transport ACG oil to Georgia's Batumi port via the railway, refusing to transport their crude through the $4 billion Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. Exxon rep. Asadzadeh also said that in reality, the contractor companies stopped their activity 1.5 year ago, and some employees have been dismissed. However, the documentation process continued until now, and therefore, the company has officially declared its closure now. FIRST OIL FROM EAST AZERI REACHES SANGACHAL TERMINAL AZERBAIJAN: COPING WITH THE OIL WINDFALL   December 2006, Issue No. 44 Previous Issues UNDP Azerbaijan Website Bulletin Home Page Country Information  Quick facts  Map of Azerbaijan  Azerbaijan Living Conditions Report 2006  Constitution of the Azerbaijan Republic  National Anthem  Embassies in Azerbaijan AZERBAIJANI ANSWER TO OIL GLUT: BATHE IN IT International Herald Tribune, November 28, 2006 NAFTALAN, Azerbaijan: Outside this improbable spa in a remote part of the former Soviet Union, oil rigs bob on a hardscrabble plain of rocks, shrubs and rusting industrial equipment that could easily pass for a stretch of West Texas. Inside, Ramil Mutukhov, a lanky 25- year-old, prepares to be pampered and preened, scrubbed and peeled in a bath of pure crude oil. He undresses, hangs his trousers and sweatshirt on a peg, pulls off socks and underwear and folds up a wad of brown paper towels. He will need those later. more   If you have any suggestions for how we can improve the Bulletin, please send us an e-mail. Your input would be greatly appreciated.