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To: sciAticA errAticA who wrote (32716)	4/30/2003 9:51:12 AM
From: sciAticA errAticA	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

Russia opts for pipeline to China April 30, 2003 MOSCOW - Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov said Tuesday that Russia has opted to build an oil pipeline to China and will leave open the possibility of constructing a pipeline to transport oil to Japan and beyond, Russian news agencies reported. Kasyanov told reporters that at present, there was enough oil available to fill a planned pipeline leading to the Chinese city of Daqing, with an estimated construction cost of some US$2.5 billion. However, it is unclear whether there was a sufficient amount to fill a further planned segment that would lead to the Russian port of Nakhodka, on the Sea of Japan, for transport to Japan, South Korea, China and the Pacific coast of the United States. "The decision on building a pipeline to Nakhodka will be made when it is determined what amount of oil is needed to fill this pipeline," Interfax quoted Kasyanov as saying. Both China and Japan have been vying for oil from around Siberian the town of Angarsk, and Moscow was to make a final decision after a series of national holidays in early May. In March, Kasyanov said that the pipeline to Nakhodka would be built first, and a spur to China would be added later. Last month, the president of Japan National Oil Corp., Yoshiro Kamata, said Tokyo was prepared to invest US$1 billion in the Russian Far East if the Nakhodka pipeline were built, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported from the Russian Pacific port of Vladivostok. He said Japan would fund construction of an oil sea terminal and refinery over four years, and that it was interested in participating in Siberian oil production consortiums. Interfax and ITAR-Tass on Tuesday quoted an unnamed source in the Russian government as saying that Tokyo was prepared to provide a loan for construction of the Nakhodka pipeline, estimated to cost some US$52. billion, but only on condition of Russian government guarantees. The source said the condition was unacceptable. The source also said that it was unclear whether Moscow would accept Japanese investment in the pipeline in any case, saying "the question is whether we need such foreign property," the news agencies reported. Kasyanov also said that he would soon sign an order to draft a feasibility study for constructing a pipeline from western Siberia to the Arctic port of Murmansk, ITAR-Tass reported. The project has the strong backing of many of Russia's biggest oil companies, which are interested in expanding the country's export potential and have said they want to build the line by 2007. It would transport oil mostly to Western Europe and North America. While Energy Minister Igor Yusufov signaled earlier this month that the government had ended its longtime opposition to private pipelines, Kasyanov said Tuesday that all pipelines should remain state property, ITAR-Tass reported. russiajournal.com