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Каспинфо май 2003 |
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Название: Новости проекта БТД (на англ. языке) Главные Пункты: * Председатель совета директоров БТД Н.Алиев сообщил, что строительство трубопровода началось в Азербайджане, Грузии и Турции. * С. Манн сообщил, что US Ex-Im Bank может выделить до 150 млн. долларов для строительства проекта БТД, а государственное агентство США OPIC обеспечит страхование от политических рисков по всем кредитам БТД. (05.05.2003) Полный Текст Новости проекта БТД (на англ. языке) Новости поекта БТД (на англ. языке) *** BTC CO BOARD MEETING SATISFIED WITH PROJECT PROGRESS At the meeting of the BTC Pipeline Company Board in Baku on Tuesday, chairmen of the board Mr. Natig Aliyev confirmed that construction works have been started in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. Pipeline areas in these countries are being cleaned to make land ready for pipe lying in May. Works in the Sangachal and Ceyhan terminals have already launched. In Azerbaijan, a total of 60-km pipes have been placed at the newly constructed Umbaki and Mugan dump yards. The land along the 445-km of Azerbaijan section of the BTC pipeline has been already acquired. A 400-person camp has been constructed in the Mugan settlement and 95 units of heavy-duty equipment have been delivered in Azerbaijan. The attendees of the meeting heard a detailed report on the construction of the oil pipeline in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, considered technical works carried out, and discussed the program on construction works to be conducted before the end of the year. Furthermore, during the meeting were presented thes report on thes negotiations concerning thes financing of the project. BTC board members confirmed that the project is being implemented on approved budget. The pipeline will be buried in ground along the entire route. The land will be rehabilitated to its initial state, the local residents will not be resettled along the route.s The pipeline route has been agreed with the governments of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. "Azernews", April 30 - May 6, 2003 *** Wall Street Journal May 13, 2003 US Official Sees Caspian Oil Pipeline Funding By Nov DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WASHINGTON -- Government-affiliated agencies are likely to decide by November on financial support for a crude oil pipeline from the Caspian Sea to Turkey's Mediterranean coast, a top U.S. diplomat said Monday. Shareholders in the pipeline project recently agreed to pay an extra $700 million-$800 million to continue construction begun last year, while awaiting bank loans and other outside support expected to cover 70% of the estimated cost of $2.95 billion. Reviews of the pipeline continue among prospective financiers including the World Bank Group's International Finance Corp., the U.S. Export-Import Bank, the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corp. and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, said Steven Mann, senior advisor for Caspian energy at the State Department. "I'd say we're looking at financial close of the project in roughly four to six months," Mann told reporters during a conference on managing Caspian oil revenue co-sponsored by the Open Society Institute and the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The ambassador said project participants have done a good job of containing costs, and competition for capital should encourage them to give attractive terms to prospective financiers. "The competition for the foreign-investment dollar is getting more competitive...Iraq is just the latest manifestation of what's been happening worldwide," he said, citing oil prospects in the Russian Far East, West Africa and the deepwater Gulf of Mexico as other competitors. But oil companies have already invested so much in Azerbaijan fields that will supply the bulk of oil to the pipeline that the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline should be economical even with new competition from Iraq, he said. Among U.S. government financing agencies, Mann projected the U.S. Ex-Im Bank could directly lend about $150 million for the project, and OPIC could provide political risk insurance for other lending. By law, the project has to go through 120 days of public comment on social and environmental issues before commitments can be made, but Mann said he expects it to meet U.S. standards. The U.S. has been among the most vocal advocates of the oil pipeline, seeing it as a way of reducing both former-Soviet countries' reliance on Russia and Iran for energy export routes and Western markets' reliance on Persian Gulf oil. While the Caspian represents only about 4% of global oil reserves, at the margins it will be an important supplier without allegiance to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Mann said. The pipeline would run about 1,730 kilometers through Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, and would eventually carry one million barrels a day, with service scheduled to begin in early 2005. BP PLC (BP) is the largest shareholder in pipeline operator BTC Co. with a 30.1% stake. Others includeinclude Azerbaijan state petroleum company Socar, Unocal Corp. (UCL), TotalFinaElf (TOT) and Statoil ASA (STO). -By Campion Walsh, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9291; campion.walsh@dowjones.com |