Brent Crude prices drop below $80 per barrel

For the first time, an Azerbaijani company has used the Northern Sea Route (NSR) to ship oil to the People's Republic of China. Until now, the NSR route to China had been dominated by vessels from the Russian shipping giant “Sovcomflot.” According to information from LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) and two traders, a tanker managed by the Azerbaijani company has embarked on the Northern Sea Route to China for the first time.

The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and Russian PJSC "Tatneft" plan to establish a joint venture for the production of lubricants. "SOCAR and Tatneft plan to create a joint venture for the production of lubricants. The parties have already signed roadmaps. This involves trading in petroleum products and ideas for creating joint ventures in oil refining. Issues related to joint production of lubricants are also being discussed," said Rufat Mahmud, General Director of SOCAR RUS. He added that similar plans are in place with the Russian company SIBUR as well.

Kazakhstan aims to boost its oil production to 104.8 million tons by 2029, announced National Economy Minister Nurlan Baibazarov at a government meeting yesterday. "The volume of oil production will increase from 97.2 million tons in 2025 to 104.8 million tons in 2029," he said.

At a briefing following a government meeting, Timur Zhantikin, CEO of Kazakh Atomic Energy Stations JSC, revealed that the capital costs for constructing a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan could range from $10 to $15 billion. "We cannot provide an exact cost at this time because the project is not yet finalized. However, we have data on overnight costs. These are capital expenditures... We use this to build financial-economic models, which show a cost range of $10 to $15 billion," he noted.