Member Info for Looed

Another update on the protest - but this would seem to confirm we are back in business to some degree or another -

"Employees of the oil company "Frontera Eastern Georgia" Dedoplistskaro, who were fired in December, gathered in Dedoplistskaro again today and stopped the car belonging to the company, loaded with raw materials, for several hours. The protests began last week after Frontera's right to operate was extended and they began extracting raw materials from the field."

(there is an embedded video but I can't get it to work)

http://intermedia.ge/??????/129393-???????????????-?????????-??????????-????-??????-??????????-?????-????/19/

This is a short news piece has a couple of interviews and a close up of the oil tanker.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Trga_xii1Y

This article seems to have more direct quotes from "The Manager" - seems to imply some production has recently taken place -

"Protesters say that despite the sale of oil, the company will not pay salaries. "We have been extracting oil for 8 days, but we do not know whether they will pay us the salary or not, we are in an extreme situation, it is very difficult for us," the protesters said.

Former Frontera employees say the government's initiative to help them with a one-time salary of 1,200 GEL is welcome, but their salaries are vital to them. "The decision of the government to help us with 1200 GEL is very important for us and we thank them very much, but 2 people died because they were ill and could not go to the doctor. We want the government to help us even more to pay our salaries quickly, ”said Valida Lomashvili, a protester.

The protesters were met by the oil extraction manager of "Frontera" Ltd. According to Giorgi Janiashvili, if the oil is not fully sold, Frontera will not be able to repay the debt. As for the specific dates, he said, he has no information in this regard.
At this stage, the company is carrying out the last flight of oil for sale, the total amount of which is 300 tons."

http://region.kvira.ge/30650/

(Embedded in the article is a 2m30s video showing the protesters, some of them talking to camera, and a distant shot of a man standing on top of an oil tanker.)

This report makes the following claim -

"They said the company was given the opportunity to export the extracted oil in exchange for repaying the debt, although the promise has not been fulfilled so far. Up to 300 tons of oil has already been extracted."

https://rustavi2.ge/ka/news/172602

This one has a different comment from "The Manager"

"The manager of the company, Giorgi Janiashvili, says that the former employees will be paid their salaries after the resumption of oil extraction, but he could not name them during the resumption of extraction" (maybe name = pay?)

https://1tv.ge/news/fronteras-yofilma-tanamshromlebma-sakhelfaso-davalianebis-anazghaurebis-motkhovnit-morigi-aqcia-gamartes/

The fired employees of the oil company "Frontera Eastern Georgia" held a rally in Dedoplistskaro - the protesters are again demanding timely repayment of salary arrears and reinstatement in service.

They stopped a car belonging to the company, which was planning to export oil, for several hours today and did not allow them to leave the area.

According to the gathering, the severe financial crisis became the reason why one of the employees of the company ended his life by committing suicide.

We worked for months and now the company does not want to repay this debt. We were unfairly fired. The state also won the Frontera arbitration dispute and ordered us to pay off our debt, but so far the company's management does not want to comply with the decision. Behind us our families and children, we no longer know what to eat them. "He had no money for medicine and it was very difficult, so one of our employees committed suicide," said one of the protesters.

Giorgi Janiashvili, the manager of the company Dedoplistskaro, has no answer to the question when and in what time the debt will be transferred to the former employees.

The state recently won an arbitration dispute against Frontera. The arbitral award sets out the relevant obligations of Frontera in terms of both the return of the search area and the reimbursement of the relevant funds.

A few days ago, the government made a decision, according to which each dismissed employee of the company will receive 1,200 GEL at a time, said the Minister of Economy Natia Turnava after the August 6 government session.

The company "Frontera" owes 84 employees, about 17 months, a total debt of up to one million GEL. The employees sued the company "Frontera" in court eight months ago. The fired employees have been holding similar rallies on a permanent basis for several months.

Recall that the Georgian government, in the light of the decision of the Hague Arbitration Tribunal, still extended the contract with "Frontera" and allowed the company to continue operations in the part of the original contract area where oil production was still underway since the Soviet era. The Georgian government justified this decision with the strategic tasks facing the country, in particular, the need for Georgia to have a positive reputation as an investment country and to maintain a positive relationship with the United States.

https://mtavari.tv/news/13142-pronteras-tanamshromlebma-saprotesto-aktsia

Thanks manicman182 - hopefully we can find something more substantial than the "he-said-she-said" of late.

Last week DomFok shared -

"According to Turnava, the government is currently in "quite positive and active communication with Frontera and is preparing for a meeting to discuss certain technical issues." At the same time, Turnava said, the issue of wage arrears of the 84 employees that Frontera fired in December last year remains a big problem."

Then a couple of days ago DomFok and others gave the FRR view -

"Instead of having a direct connection with the company, as is appropriate for a constructive partnership, members of the government have again chosen to make a public statement on a fabricated issue"

The best I can gleam from this is that whilst they clearly do not agree on the wages issue, it's also a separate matter. So it's possible that talks regarding the other "technical issues" are ongoing.

Europa Metals, the European focused lead-zinc and silver developer, is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement with concentrate marketing agent, Conrad Partners (the "Marketing Agreement"), in relation to the Company's wholly owned Toral lead, zinc and silver project ("Toral" or the "Toral Project") situated in the region of Castilla y León, north-west Spain. Pursuant to the Marketing Agreement, Conrad Partners has agreed to work with the Company to source commercial terms for the potential future supply and sale of concentrate products from Toral.

Conrad Partners is a leading Hong Kong based concentrate agent within the industrial metals space, with a track record of structuring agreements and managing concentrate sales for a series of pre-production and producing companies worldwide. Further information on Conrad Partners is available on its website at: www.conradpartners.com.hk

Europa Metals believes it prudent to engage with Conrad Partners at the current time, in order to access its valuable advice and proven expertise in delivering successful offtake relationships for global mining companies. The Marketing Agreement is non-exclusive and thereby permits the Board of Europa Metals to pursue other potential product relationships as appropriate.

Laurence Read, CEO of Europa Metals, commented:
"The Toral lead zinc and silver project has reached the stage where operations can be advanced through the use of the potential concentrate output from the project. Accordingly, we have been engaged in a process with the Conrad Partners' team over recent months, which has included their review of our project data room. I am delighted that, following this review period, we have now executed the Marketing Agreement, which serves to appoint Conrad Partners as a marketing agent for the Toral Project.

"The marketing agreement is also in place ahead of our next round of metallurgical results and a new resource, both of which we look forward to announcing shortly."

The fact that such a strategically important project was derailed by domestic political squabbling does not reflect well on Georgia. Foreign firms will be less likely to invest there, especially in things like infrastructure projects which require long-term commitments. This should be a grave concern for Georgia, where FDI inflows have already fallen from an average of $1.8 billion per year between 2014 and 2017 to $1.3 billion in 2018 and 2019, according to government data.

Access to Western investors, businesses, and insurers – which requires those actors to believe they will be treated fairly – is a vital economic and security asset for Georgia. Investors bring more than capital and expertise; they form connections between business communities in Georgia and the West which in turn create political connections. If the steady march of bad press about Anaklia dissuades some Western firms from investing in Georgia, the country will be forced to choose between slower economic growth and new benefactors.

The obvious choice would be China, with its deep coffers and penchant for investing in dysfunctional countries along trade routes to Europe. This is not just a far-fetched hypothetical. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has cited the risk of Georgia “falling prey to Russian or Chinese economic influence” as one reason Anaklia is so important. Chinese investment in Georgia would invite the same concerns about debt traps, a lack of transparency, and political influence that accompany Chinese investments everywhere.

Georgia is still a success story for democracy and free enterprise in a tough neighborhood. The Anaklia fiasco is a step backwards. Georgians must now recognize the danger of politicizing critical investments. Parliamentary elections in October are the perfect opportunity to voice support for Anaklia and for keeping their country open to foreign businesses.

Georgia’s friends in Washington, meanwhile, should provide the kind of guidance that is based on principle, not favoritism. In April, Georgia prevailed in an arbitration dispute with Frontera, the American oil company, which the Hague Permanent Court of Arbitration found had failed to pay wages and engaged in other unscrupulous behavior over the years. Instead of supporting Georgia’s efforts to move on, some members of Congress (who took contributions from Frontera), tried to get the State Department to withhold aid to Tbilisi, tying – improbably – the Frontera dispute to Russia. Tbilisi had no choice but to cave.

That’s how Beijing and Moscow do business. If Washington wants Georgia to succeed as a transparent and free democracy, it should support the country’s efforts to play by the rules – and support negotiations with the Anaklia Development Consortium.

https://eurasianet.org/perspectives-arbitrations-are-not-a-good-look-for-georgia

This is focused on Anaklia Port and does reference FRR a couple of times -

Pt.1

Tbilisi’s handling of the Anaklia port project, especially soon after another noisy dispute with a foreign investor, is hurting its reputation and undermining Georgia’s security.

The investors behind Anaklia, an ill-fated deep-water port project in Georgia, late last month filed arbitration claims against the Georgian government after accusing it of undermining the $2.5 billion project.

Georgia needs the port. And if it doesn’t want to find itself sucked into a Chinese debt trap, it needs to stop tussling with Western investors. The arbitration filings came just days after Tbilisi backed down in another conflict with another investor, Frontera, an American oil company – under myopic pressure from Washington.

This latest escalation in the bitter public dispute over Anaklia is a blow to Georgia’s national security for two reasons.

First, it is yet more evidence that Anaklia will not be built anytime soon; the arbitration process will make it difficult for the government to attract new investors. As the country’s first deep-water port, Anaklia is an essential part of Georgia’s plan to transform itself into a transit hub between Europe and Asia, a strategy intended to boost trade, integrate deeper in the Euro-Atlantic economic system, and ultimately pull Georgia out of Russia’s sphere of influence.

The move by the Anaklia Development Consortium (ADC) – which was founded by a rival to the head of Georgia’s ruling party – came after the government blamed it for failing to raise enough money for the port and terminated its contract in January. ADC, for its part, maintains that the government made it impossible to attract investors.

The Anaklia saga also undermines Georgia’s security by damaging its reputation as a safe place to invest. Georgian officials like to boast about their country’s free trade agreements and high place in ease of doing business rankings. The ability to attract foreign investors not only spurs growth, it creates connections with American and European business communities and spares Georgia from having to accept predatory loans from China to build new infrastructure.

Already Chinese investors are active in coal mining, housing construction, and rebuilding roads.

The ruling Georgian Dream party has always claimed it supports Anaklia. Behind the scenes, however, it has appeared to sabotage the project by refusing to provide guarantees to international financial institutions, and launching what smells like a politically motivated money laundering investigation against former ADC chairman Mamuka Khazaradze. Clearly there is a personal rivalry between Khazaradze, who has started his own political party, and the head of Georgian Dream, Georgia’s de-facto leader Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Thanks DomFok - I found that one as well but its formatting is terrible - it comes out as one big block of text. Hopefully the original and easier to read version will pop up soon. Hopefully you will be getting more interview alerts soon as well.

This article / clip (but no Zaza) has, like article Blownitalready posted shows the FRR press statement and you can read it if you pause the videos - but I can't find any copy of the actual press release. IF anyone can find that would be great.
https://mtavari.tv/news/12962-mtavroba-kvlav-shetitkhnili-braldebebis-gzas

J1 - “Frontera” accuses the Georgian government of misinformation and anti-American behaviour. The letter from the American company says that the Georgian government announced in the media about providing one-time financial aid to the "former employees" of the company, which, according to "Frontera", serves to write pre-election points. "Frontera" states that the government prefers communication with the media instead of direct cooperation with the American company. The letter also talks about the August 2008 war and the investments made during that period. The company says Frontera made the statement in response to a statement made by the economy minister on August 6, in which Natia Turnava said the government would help unemployed citizens. As the president of "Frontera" explains, this statement also meant the employees of the American company.

Zaza - We made this statement because it is just a continuation of the misinformation and false information that the Gakharia's government has been carrying out against our company for a long time. If the government really cared about the fate of the employees and the jobs, then the government would not have spent 42 million GEL to make every effort to terminate the contract with us and leave the people unemployed.

https://formulanews.ge/News/34932

Blownitalready - please put "translation needed" in the subject title when you put up a video for translation. It will help save time as I don't automatically check every link, thanks.

This short interview will be translation #28

Blownitalready - please help by putting "translation needed" in the message title if there is a video to translate. It will help make sure translations aren't missed as I don't check every link, thanks.

This short video will be translation #28

The US looks forward to further expansion of cooperation to attract more US investments in Georgia, US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan said, Trend reports referring to Georgian Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development.

She made the remark following a meeting with Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Natia Turnava.

"I had an important meeting with the minister. Our cooperation covers many areas, which already contributes to the development of the Georgian economy. Our goal is to help Georgia ensure prosperity in all regions of the country," Degnan said.

According to her, both countries have quite extensive and large-scale programs in the field of energy, small and medium production, agriculture and the maritime sector.

"We work closely with the ministry, and we look forward to further expansion of our cooperation to attract more US investments in Georgia," Degnan added.

https://menafn.com/1100610013/Ambassador-US-ready-to-invest-more-in-Georgia

Keysersoze - there is a small but important error in the quote you posted - it should read "...written by US congressmen to Mike Pompeo" - the article missed the "to" out.

A media-watch site describes geworld as "Along with anti-Western attitudes, the publication is notorious for its Turko-phobic, racist and homophobic content." and no surprise its Kremlin supported - https://www.mythdetector.ge/en/profile/geworldge

The site does include at least one mention of FRR - in a desperate hit-job on the Ambassador. All "may" have done this, that or the other. The article is supposed to be about the Ambassador but she only gets a passing mention, as does FRR, in the nonsensical final paragraph -

"The question now is who and when will conduct a similar investigation by the Brazilians in Georgia to find out exactly why Kelly Degnan forced the Dream government to pass constitutional amendments and release Ugulava and Okruashvili from prison, why our government changed its position with 180 degrees towards “Frontera”, and in fact, what did Mike Pompeo mean when he told to Gakharia that he expects transparent and competitive elections in Georgia."

http://geworld.ge/en/to-better-understand-the-approaches-of-mrs-degnan-the-us-ambassador-to-georgia/

Long article on Anaklia Port, arbitration and lots on the geo-political implications for Georgia. FRR gets a brief mention.

A few snippets -

"Therefore, the potential investor will definitely take into account the high-profile disputes of large investors against Georgia. The arbitration dispute of the Anaklia Development Consortium may cause financial and serious damage to the country."

"I think it was the task of the Georgian government to thwart this project. Of course, the Georgian government never acknowledges this, but they say one thing and prove another. It is quite clever to put the idea into practice - deliver the prospects of the port and show people that you are eager to implement it, but in fact work behind the scenes so that this project does not stand a chance."

"The agreement between the consortium and the government was then amended from time to time. If these agreements were not acceptable to both parties, naturally, they would not have been signed. If so, what do we say to either international arbitration or our foreign investors? Was this investor good before and now it is no longer good? We wanted to cooperate with him yesterday, we also made concessions and negotiated, but today we will not make concessions?"

"By burying the port of Anaklia, Georgia's sovereign right was violated. In addition, the dynamics of foreign direct investment shows that international investors no longer trust Georgian money and no longer consider our country as a democratic environment."

https://www.kvirispalitra.ge/economic/67549-uprecedento-dava-saqarthvelos-istoriashi.html

Arsenal221 / tsbs1

I am not sure if "odd" properly sums it up, but this article was published 23/07, so lets say Zaza was interviewed 20-23rd July. Since then we have had more translations and the last one published - #23 from 27/07 - has Zaza neatly summing up the same old talking points we have heard again and again -

"The main requirement of these 14 claims was that the contract be terminated for us ostensibly due to a permanent breach of contract terms, which was not upheld by the arbitral tribunal. The second claim, also the most important, was that we were fined about GEL 320 million for our government for allegedly breaching the terms, which was also not upheld by the arbitration. Arbitration did not satisfy 12 out of 14, but did satisfy 2. Now what are these 2 requirements? One is to pay an subsoil fee of about $ 200,000, which we have been paying in advance for 22 years and have no plans to appeal. And secondly, the arbitration ordered us to return the territories where we do not carry out exploration and extraction work to the Ministry of Economy."

Off the wall theory but then again what isn't when it comes to this share - On the one hand he says "no idea" about the % thats been returned to the GOGC. On the other hand he says "They got 1% and we kept 99%" I wonder if this is two different things he is talking about and the 1% is a return of 1% of the developed land which sorted out the breach issue, thus allowing talks to proceed. Can't decide if thats feasible or ridiculous!

Hi Arsenal221 - When Zaza kept saying "no material breach" we needed a journalist to ask "What, so there was no breach of any kind" type of thing early on and we might have gotten some answers sooner.

He keeps saying they can't cancel the contract so presumably there was a plan of sorts to deal with this?

I suppose there is a chance this admission brings all sides a bit closer together. Maybe they can now say something to the effect that " We both accept the Award but we do differ in our interpretation. However and for the good of Georgia we have decided to put differences aside and going forward (cue balloon drop and high fives all round)" sort of thing.

These are parts of a very long article on FRR from 23/07. It goes over a lot of stuff already reported, but in parts gives a slightly different spin on things - this is the first report I have seen that says Zaza apparently agrees that FRR committed a 'breach'

First - I have never seen this about part of the Block being sold off thus frustrating FRR operations -

Zaza says "Part of the territory of Block XII was sold to a third party [under the contract, Frontera owns wells, reservoirs, and oil and gas infrastructure in general, but not land], which resulted in our third-party infrastructure being virtually barred from us for years"

The article goes on to say the GOGC where mostly focused with getting back the uncontested lands, not the developed fields.

And now some Zaza quotes that seem different to other statements -

Frontera CEO confirmed that the arbitration had indeed instructed them to return the area beyond extraction and operation, but said that they had already planned to return the area - next year - and that he was reading the decision differently from the state.

Then the twist -

In an in-depth interview with Netgazeti, Zaza Mamulaishvili confirmed that the arbitral tribunal had found that Frontera had substantially breached the June 25, 1997 contract for the distribution of products and the processing plant. The difference, however, was in the reading of the outcome of the decision: in the GOGC's view, that decision was a sufficient ground for terminating the contract.

The company, on the other hand, told us that under one of the clauses of the contract they had the right to correct a substantial breach within three months, and if corrected, in that case the state would no longer have the legal right to terminate the contract.

However, as Vazha Khidasheli from the GOGC told us, this interpretation of the contract was incorrect and the record of "breach of breach" in the contract did not conflict with the possibility of terminating the contract."

On the 1% -

Zaza Mamulaishvili, as we have already mentioned, told us that we are talking about the return of the areas where the company did not intend to carry out the works and which it was going to return next year. However, it did not confirm that this part was 99% of the territory. As he told Netgazeti, this is not the part of the territory where the vast majority of oil and gas supplies / resources / reserves are mobilized" He said they did not have to return the territory that was fundamentally important to them.

https://netgazeti.ge/news/469720/

Though from 2018, there is a GOGC report that confirms gas production -

"In 2018, commercial gas was extracted only from Ninotsimnda and Mtsarekhevi fields and made up about 13 Mm3."

Though it doesn't break down the extraction per field.