I've been extremely impressed with Don Evans, Secretary of Commerce.
First oil loaded from Kazakh-Russia pipeline
(UPDATE: Adds quotes on other projects final two paras)
By Patrick Lannin
MOSCOW, Oct 15 (Reuters) - The operator of a new $2.5 billion pipeline to bring oil from Kazkahstan to Western markets via Russia said on Monday the first crude had been loaded and saw the pipe gaining further steam by the end of the year.
The line, operated by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), is the first to be completed since the fall of the Soviet Union to ship oil to Western markets from the Caspian Sea, where reserves are estimated to be similar to those of the North Sea.
It comes onstream just as oil cartel OPEC is worrying about low oil prices, already hit by a slump in world demand.
``I think that life has begun,'' Chevron vice-president Richard Matzke told reporters at a news conference to announce the first shipment.
CPC, led by Chevron (NYSE:CHV - news) and involving Russia, Kazahstan and other top multi-national firms, was originally intended to open in June but customs problems and technical hitches delayed it.
CPC General Director Sergei Gnatchenko said the first tanker had been a trial loading, but was confident the pipeline and oil terminal was now fully operational.
``Today we had the first loading, tomorrow we will have the second,'' he said. ``The first loading is always a trial run.''
As well as Chevron, Russia and Kazakhstan, CPC involves Gulf state Oman and oil firms LukArco , Rosneft-Shell Caspian Ventures (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: SHEL.L) and the Kazakhstan Pipeline Ventures LLC Mobil Caspian Pipeline Company (NYSE:XOM - news).
``The Caspian Pipeline Consortium will ship one million tonnes of oil by the end of this year, and next next year CPC plans to ship 20 million tonnes,'' Gnatchenko added at the briefing, also attended by U.S. Commerce Secretary Don Evans.
Evans, visiting Moscow with a delegation of U.S. businessmen, hailed the first loading.
``The CPC sends an important message to the world that the United States, Russia and Central Asia are cooperating to build prosperity and stability in this part of the world,'' he said.
Initial capacity of the pipeline is expected to be 28.2 million tonnes a year (around 560,000 barrels a day). Its estimated final capacity will 67 million tonnes a year.
OTHER PIPES ON HORIZON
The Caspian is a focus of diplomatic intrigue, with the sea itself, which five states border, not yet demarcated. The states are Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Azerbaijan.
Friction over territorial rights in the sea intensified this year when Iranian gunboats chased off an Azeri vessel which was exploring disputed waters.
The United States, seeking to increase its influence in the region, has also been promoting routes west which avoid Russia.
The main one to receive its backing is a pipeline costing around $3 billion from the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku, to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan.
BP has so far been one of the main proponents of the Baku-Ceyhan line, saying it sees it as economically viable and beneficial to any companies or countries involved.
LUKOIL deputy head Dzhevan Cheloyants said his company was still examining BP's feasability study on the pipeline.
``We are now looking at these options and they look better than the previous ones,'' he said of BP's study. |
