Latest news with #Kazakhgovernment
New Indian Express
21-05-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Gulf trades trigger Texas tremors
'I owe my success to having listened respectfully to the very best advice, and then going away and doing the exact opposite.' — G K Chesterton As US President Donald Trump concluded his Gulf tour, former President Jimmy Carter's speech on July 15, 1979 couldn't be more relevant: 'I am tonight setting a clear goal for the energy policy of the US. Beginning this moment, this nation will never use more foreign oil than we did in 1977—never.' The foundation of a long-lasting friendship between the US and the Saudi kingdom was laid on Valentine's Day in 1945, when President Franklin D Roosevelt and King Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud met aboard USS Quincy on the Suez Canal. The bonhomie translated into an arrangement that provided military security to the monarchy and guaranteed oil supplies to the republic. Within three years, a consortium led by Standard Oil Company of California discovered the Ghawar oil field (later to be a part of Saudi Aramco), the world's largest, in the Saudi desert. It heralded the kingdom's undisputed leadership as the largest player in global oil exports, ushering interdependency between the two countries. In 1977, OPEC provided 85 percent of its crude oil to the US, with Saudi Arabia the single largest source. Against 8.5 million barrels per day of supplies almost five decades back, the figure prognostically remained at 8.44 mbpd in 2024. The Canadian Oil patch currently accounts for more than 60 percent of the US import basket. Keen to reclaim its share after having ceded it to 'opportunists' within the cartel who erred on quota directives, Saudi Arabia initiated to open the spigots May onwards. Kazakhstan, Iraq and the UAE constantly breached their allocations. Kazakhstan's Tengiz oilfield, the world's sixth largest, is ironically owned and operated as a joint venture between the Kazakh government and American majors Chevron and ExxonMobil, with the latter two together holding 75 percent. Export of nearly 80 percent of Kazakh crude from this oilfield is facilitated by the Russia-controlled Caspian Pipeline Consortium. Such are the complexities of the oil industry, where collaborations flourish sans frontières.
Reuters
21-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Exclusive: US investor Cameron offers $5 billion for Kazakh mining giant ERG, letter shows
Summary Companies ERG formed task force to explore Kazakhstan's rare earth deposits Rare earth, other critical minerals a focus of US attention Kazakhstan to increase rare earth, rare metals output by 40% by 2028 Goldman Sachs may advise on the deal MOSCOW, April 21 (Reuters) - U.S. businessman James Cameron has offered to buy mining giant Eurasian Resources Group for $5 billion, a letter he sent to its board showed, as the company prepares to participate in a major expansion of Kazakhstan's rare earths output. ERG, a Luxembourg-based producer of copper, cobalt, aluminium, and iron ore that is 40%-owned by the Kazakh government, said last year it had formed a task force to explore deposits of rare earth and rare metals in Kazakhstan. Those minerals have gained particular attention in recent months as U.S. President Donald Trump's administration seeks alternatives to China to supply its domestic industry as a trade war between the countries escalates. According to a source close to the company, talks between ERG and Cameron have been going on since the end of last year. ERG, the Kazakh government, and Cameron, once a board chairman of former FTSE 250 mining firm Petropavlovsk, did not comment. According to Cameron's letter to the ERG board, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters, Goldman Sachs is in preliminary talks to advise on the deal. "The financing will come from a combination of my own funds, as well as equity contributions from other investors in the United States, and possibly Australia and the Middle East," the letter said. Another source close to the transaction told Reuters the investor's interest in ERG is partly linked to Kazakhstan's potential in critical minerals exploration and mining. Kazakhstan aims to lift rare and rare earth metals output by 40% by 2028, with ERG seen taking a major role in the initiative. This month, Kazakhstan's government announced that its geologists had discovered a large rare earth deposit with estimated resources exceeding 20 million metric tons. Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov said last year that data concerning the country's deposits of rare and rare earth metals, a state secret since Soviet times, is being gradually declassified. If confirmed, this discovery could position Kazakhstan among the top three holders of rare earth reserves globally, following China and Brazil. ERG once produced one-fifth of the world's gallium, a rare metal used in microchips and included on the U.S. list of critical materials. However, it ceased production after China increased its output of the metal in 2012. Beijing in December banned gallium exports to the U.S. after a crackdown by Washington on China's chip sector. In 2013, ERG was taken private in a $4.5 billion buyout by its three founders, who each owned approximately 20% of the company, along with the government. Last month, one of ERG's founders and its board chairman, Kazakh-Israeli businessman Alexander Mashkevich, passed away, leaving only one of the original founders, Patokh Chodiev, among the current shareholders.
