News Roundup - October 17, 2007

Eurasia Daily Monitor: Kazakhstan's Oil Export Picture Detailed
At last week’s energy summit of Baltic, Black Sea, and Caspian countries, hosted by Lithuania in Vilnius, Kazakhstan’s Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sauat Mynbayev provided a remarkably detailed picture of the country’s oil export policies, both ongoing and projected...
Wall Street Journal: Chevron Plan Hits Russian Hurdle
U.S. energy company Chevron Corp. has ambitious plans for Tengiz, an oil field in Kazakhstan that is one of its biggest and most prestigious projects. The consortium it leads is investing $6 billion to double production there...
Bloomberg: Germany Eyes Kazakh, Azeri Accords to Diversify Energy Supplies
German Economy Minister Michael Glos began a four-day trip to Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, stepping up efforts to deepen energy ties with the resource- rich former Soviet states...
Reuters: After Crunch, Kazakhstan on Radar of CEE Banks
Central European banks are eyeing oil-rich Kazakhstan for further expansion after the country's banking sector went through a severe refinancing crisis, bankers at the Reuters Central European Investment Summit said...
The Financial Times: Upgrades to Rise for Emerging Markets
Standard & Poor's expects ratings upgrades on emerging market countries to outstrip downgrades in the next six months, as strong fundamentals help them weather the credit squeeze...
Forbes: Kazakhstan Kagazy H1 Pretax Profit Slightly Higher, Operating Profit More Than Doubles
Kazakhstan Kagazy PLC posted a slightly higher first-half pretax profit and said operating income rose nearly four-fold in the first two months of the second-half as its paper business continued to generate high double digit rates of revenue growth...
odwyerpr.com: APCO Picks Up 'Borat' Account
APCO Worldwide is hammering out final details in an agreement to provide global PR for energy rich Kazakhstan, the former Soviet Union state that was featured in the movie "Borat." ...
Harper's Magazine: APCO, Paragon of Ethics, Representing Kazakh Regime: Can Turkmenistan Be Far Behind?
APCO’s high ethical standards apparently don’t keep it from working for Nazarbayev, who recently took steps that effectively make him president-for-life...
The Washington Times: Embassy Row: Kazakh Promises
The ambassador from Kazakhstan faced strong opposition on Capitol Hill yesterday when he argued that his Central Asian nation deserves to lead a major human rights organization, despite charges that his government is run by an authoritarian president obsessed with expanding his power...
Oilweek: Tethys Petroleum Shares Gain More Than 10 Percent on Gas Discovery
Shares in Tethys Petroleum Ltd. (TSX:TPL) rose more than 10 per cent in Tuesday afternoon trading as the company reported a natural gas discovery in Kazakhstan...
IFEX: Adil Soz, Other NGOs Issue Joint Statement on Shortcomings of Proposed Media Law Reforms
The following is joint statement by Adil Soz and eight other freedom of expression organisations to members of the Kazakh Parliament, in response to media law amendments proposed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Culture and Information...