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Каспинфо июнь 2002 |
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Название: Пути транспортировки каспийских энергоресурсов на англ. языке Главные Пункты: * Дж. Буш заявил, что трубопровод Баку-Джейхан является свидетельством прогресса в достижении цели создания коридора Восток-Запад для транспортировки каспийских энергоресурсов на мировой рынок. Д.Вудворд, глава ВР-Азербайджан, считает, что в будущем можно будет построить еще несколько трубопроводов. * С. Манн, спецпредставитель Государственного департамента США по Каспию, заявил, что США не будут против, если Иран и Азерайджан примут решение о совместной разработке структур на Каспии. * Компания TotalFinaElf подписала соглашение со Спонсорской группой трубопровода Баку-Джейхан, согласно которому компания может приобрести 5% долю в проекте. * и др. сообщения. (19.06.2002) Полный Текст Пути транспортировки каспийских энергоресурсов на англ. языке Пути транспортировки каспийских энергоресурсов на англ. языке *** BAKU-CEYHAN OIL PIPELINE INEVITABLE (RFE/RL June 12) David Woodward, the head of BP Azerbaijan, announced on 6 June that the development of the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline is inevitable. Though once criticized as too costly and lacking in sufficient oil resources, Woodward announced, "Today the project is not dependent on extra financing, extra crude volumes, or new participants," Reuters reported. The announcement follows a 31 May decision by the EBRD to fund 10 percent of the pipeline project that will link Azerbaijani oil fields to the Turkish coast. EBRD official Thomas Moser said, "We want to finance the Baku-Ceyhan project and are ready to fund $300 million before the end of 2002." Speaking to Reuters in Baku, Moser said that construction on the $2.9 billion, 1,730 km (1,075 mile) oil pipeline will commence in July with a target completion date of 2005. The pipeline is expected to carry up to 1 million barrels of crude oil per day between Azerbaijan and Turkey. An additional 20 to 30 percent of project costs will be absorbed by the BP-consortium that is leading the development effort. International financial institutions, including the International Finance Corporation, the U.S. Eximbank, and the Japan Eximbank will provide the remaining funds. The pipeline will follow the same path as a gas pipeline that is also operated by BP. President George W. Bush has voiced strong support for the development of oil and gas pipelines from Azerbaijan to Turkey. In a letter to Azerbaijani President Heidar Aliev, Bush wrote that "Great progress has been made over the past year toward realizing our shared goal of an East-West corridor to transport Azerbaijani and other Caspian oil and gas to global markets," the AP reported. The development of the pipeline and opening of Caspian energy resources to world markets could provide the U.S. with an alternative to Persian Gulf oil. The newly developed pipeline would also limit the influence of Russia and Iran on Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan. At present, oil shipped from Azerbaijan must pass through both Russian and Georgian pipelines. Although construction is set to begin in summer 2002, tensions in the region could potentially postpone the project's development. Georgia alone is faced with challenges in Abkhazia as well as in its border region, where U.S. trained troops are preparing for encounters with guerilla forces and Al-Qaeda fighters. Despite the challenges ahead, Bush told Aliev, "I look forward to even greater involvement of U.S. firms in the commercial development of Azerbaijan's energy sector and in fostering broad-based economic growth," the AP reported. Although Western oil companies are involved in Caspian Sea exploration for commercial purposes, they view the development of the pipeline as largely strategic and even symbolic. The proposed route they maintain is costly, and Caspian Sea oil is not likely to replace U.S. imports of Persian Gulf oil. Unlike the U.S., Russia does not view construction of the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline favorably. Success in transporting oil via this path will cut down on the transportation of reserves across Russian territory. As such, the new pipeline could serve to decrease even further Russia's influence on the region. Efforts to promote the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline will move forward despite Russian concerns. The BP-led consortium involved in the construction project is expected to meet 19-20 June in order to make investment decisions, Reuters reported. The consortium will then spend the remainder of 2002 preparing the ground for the actual laying of the pipeline in early 2003. In responding to charges that the pipeline will experience oil shortfalls, Woodward told Reuters that Azeri-Chirag-Gunesli would have enough oil to fill the pipeline alone. "We have updated our forecast of recoverable reserves to 5.3 billion barrels from the previous 4.6 billion. The ACG project will be able to produce one million barrels per day by 2008," Woodward said. The update in reserve forecasting was one of the factors that increased financial institutions' confidence in the project and may have influenced the EBRD announcement. Woodward did admit that the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline may require additional volumes after 2015 when it is expected that ACG production will begin to decline. By that time, however, new projects should be operating in the region allowing for crude oil shipping. Woodward sees a comparison between the reserves available in the Caspian and those of the North Sea. If his estimates prove correct, there may be enough resources to support two to three major pipelines in the region. In 2003, the Baku-Ceyhan link will become the second major pipeline following the 2001 construction of a line from Kazakhstan to Russia. Woodward told Reuters, "A third pipeline could be built after 2010-2015 but it will be dependent on exactly where the additional volumes of oil are found and how the politics in the region develop." He added that a pipeline to Iran should not be ruled out. MDBNews CIS Week 24-02 *** June 6, 2002, Thursday LENGTH: 212 words HEADLINE: Azerbaijan and Iran should decide fate of south Caspian oil field - US adviser SOURCE: Turan news agency, Baku, in Russian 1505 gmt 5 Jun 02 Text of report by Azerbaijani news agency Turan Baku, 5 June: The USA's Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) intends to allocate 3m dollars to research into the political risks of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and the targeted use of these funds will be discussed with the project participants themselves, OPIC Vice-President Ross Connelly said at a news conference in Baku yesterday. Asked about ways to resolve the problem of the status of the Caspian and disputed deposits, Washington's special adviser on Caspian energy problems, Steven Mann, said that the process of dividing the Caspian's southern section would be "a big process" but "this is a soluble issue", although a breakthrough in the near future was not expected. Asked how Washington would react if Baku offered Tehran joint use of the Araz-Alov-Sarq structures, disputed with Iran, Mann replied that the USA considered this the business of Baku and Tehran, implying that the USA would not object if Iran and Azerbaijan reached agreement on the structures. Commenting on the possibility of reviving the idea of a Transcaspian gas pipeline, Mann said that several weeks ago the Turkmen president did not receive him so he could not say anything definite on the issue. LOAD-DATE: June 6, 2002 Copyright 2002 British Broadcasting Corporation BBC Monitoring Trans Caucasus Unit Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring *** /12:18 13.06.2002/ Iran's possibilities to offer transit route discussed in Tehran Tehran, June 13, 2002. (CNA). A two-day international conference that kicked off on June 11 in Iran's capital Tehran has brought together senior transport and communication officials from neighboring Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Iraq and also from Russia, India, Romania, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and some other countries, who are expected to take under close scrutiny the possibilities that Iran may offer for the so-called North-South transport corridor. The conference is also attended by senior officials from World Bank and UN. More specifically it will consider possibilities of transit cargo transportation across the territory of Iran, compatible to the recently signed agreement by Russia, Iran and Iran on the international transport corridor they call North-South. This huge project is supposed to provide the shortest route for taking goods from South Asia and the Gulf region to Central Asian and European markets. A press release, issued by Iranian transport ministry says the conference will provide a comprehensive information about Iran's transit transportation capacities, its relevant legislation and will also help to look for solution of the possible problems, Armenpress reports. CNA/www.caspian.ru *** /12:52 13.06.2002/ TotalFinaElf acquires stake in Baku-Ceyhan pipeline Baku, June 13, 2002. (CNA). TotalFinaElf has signed an agreement with the Sponsor Group of the BTC Pipeline Project which links Baku in Azerbaijan to Ceyhan in Turkey. This agreement gives it the right to acquire a 5% share in the Pipeline Company at project sanction, Rigzone reports. TotalFinaElf is involved in large exploration and production projects in the Caspian Sea area where hydrocarbon transportation is a key business driver for the oil and gas activities. The Group has consistently made clear its support of the development of multiple export routes for the crude oil produced in the Caspian area in order to increase security of export, stimulate competitiveness and provide access to a variety of markets. The decision to join the Sponsor Group of the BTC is thus part of this strategy and would give TotalFinaElf access, once the project is sanctioned, to export capacity for part of its future production from the Caspian Area, notably Kazakhstan. The BTC pipeline will be the second major export pipeline following the recent start of the CPC (Caspian Pipeline Consortium) operations in the northern part of the region. TotalFinaElf believes that other major export lines will also be necessary notably toward the Arab-Persian Gulf in order to provide access to the Asian markets. CNA/www.caspian.ru |