So what’s happened to Electrogas, then?
All quiet on the eastern front where Electrogas is concerned. Looks like the consortium which was meant to give us a new power station by March 2015, but which might now give us one by June 2016, has popped its clogs already.
SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan) makes up a significant percentage of the Electrogas consortium, so you would have thought that the Maltese members of that consortium would have gone with the Maltese government delegation to Baku for chats. But no.
Then there was also that bombshell Konrad Mizzi dropped some weeks ago, when he said that Shell would be supplying the gas for that power station. Shell, we thought? Then what in the name of all that’s sane is SOCAR doing in the equation? SOCAR’s business is gas.
Now I read in a news report on an Azzerbaijan portal that:
Joseph Muscat noted that there was big mutual interest for the development of relations in economic sphere. He stressed the importance of cooperation in energy area, including with the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic in terms of the expansion of economic ties.
Why is our puppet prime minister suddenly dealing with SOCAR directly when SOCAR is supposed to be part of the Electrogas consortium?
In another report from Azerbaijan itself, I read:
A memorandum of understanding on strategic cooperation in the oil and gas sector between SOCAR and the Energy and Health Ministry of Malta was signed by SOCAR president Rovnag Abdullayev and Energy and Health Minister Konrad Mizzi.
If SOCAR is still part of Electrogas and that deal’s still on, then why is Muscat having to jump through hoops?
As a side note, what I’d give to see Kurt Farrugia working things out on location.
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http://en.apa.az/xeber_president_ilham_aliyev_receives_maltese__220409.html
http://www.azernews.az/azerbaijan/74735.html
Actually, things are slightly more complex than this.
In December 2012, Gasol plc – the lead developer of the Electrogas Consortium – signed a strategic alliance agreement with SOCAR Trading.
http://www.investegate.co.uk/gasol-plc-(gas)/rns/strategic-alliance-with-socar-trading-s.a./201212200700089751T/
Makes Joseph Muscat’s role in the negotiation more questionable.
If Gasol plc and its consortium cannot negotiate with one of their members, how will they be able to deliver and manage an LNG project in Malta?
I knew it! Yet another memorandum of understanding.
Muscat collects them like a philatelist collects stamps. In Evarist Bartolo language, this government seems to suffer from premature ejaculation whenever it’s about to achieve an orgasm of signing a real agreement.
from a previous article:
During a meeting with Maltese counterpart, Azerbaijani Prime Minister Artur Rasizade stressed the importance of Joseph Muscat’s visit to Baku in terms of creating a legal framework for expanding the cooperation between the two countries.
creating a legal framework as opposed to an illegal one? Who communicates in this way?
A corrupt dictatorship
This mob couldn’t organise a shag in a brothel let alone a complex contract.
“Mhux xorta? OK siehbi. Iffirma, ras.”
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists fights corruption worldwide. When the Offshore Leaks investigation exposed the corruption at the heart of Aliyev’s government, including his family’s offshore accounts, Aliyev said “my daughters are grown up and have a right to do business”.
Aliyev also expressed regret that he couldn’t suppress ICIJ journalists as he does in Azerbaijan. A prominent Azeri investgatve journalist was arrested on dubious charges and is still being held. The ICIJ is campaigning for her release.
The ICIJ is non-profit, non-partisan and privately funded. See here for details: http://bit.ly/1EpiMnM
I think Simon Busuttil found Joseph Muscat’s Achille’s heel on the power station issue.
He said that when he is in government, he will seek to purchase electricity from the cheapest source, so he is not recognising these long-term agreements which the government is signing.
SOCAR and the other players in this whole mess want to make good money from their investments, and can’t afford that level of uncertainty when the price of BRENT is nearing $50/barrel.
Sounds like one hell of a flipping mess to me. But that’s the standard I suppose as the bar gets lower by the day.
I suppose come this time next year we will hear about another cock-up and the date will be updated to 2018. And it will be everyone’s fault but the government’s.
They will bring this country to its knees. It will be their (and our) undoing. The economy has kept its momentum, but the inertia cannot last forever.
When Cikku il-Poplu feels the pinch in his pocket he will show them the door. Malta will take years to recover.
Interesting to see what the Maltese partners have to say.
They are either gagged, afraid to come out in the open, or feel cool enough as they haven’t spent a single Euro yet.
Not on the power station project they haven’t, though they could have elsewhere.
Don’t forget that they have been given the land.
” Why is our puppet prime minister suddenly dealing with SOCAR directly when SOCAR is supposed to be part of the Electrogas consortium?” Every one remembers how much the PL’s electoral campaign costed.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20141215/local/updated-opposition-calls-for-publication-of-all-energy-agreements.548425
It is the perfect timing to leak another report to Ariadne Massa at Times of Malta or to Miriam Dalli at Malta Today.
Not ‘Malta taghna lkoll’ but they should say: TAHWID Taghna lkoll.
I thought Tumas group were intent on pulling out.
https://reportingproject.net/occrp/index.php/en/ccwatch/cc-watch-indepth/2725-socar-chiefs-son-practices-qcharityq-with-government-funds
All these memorandums of understanding are making it very difficult for the public to understand what is going on.