Russian energy minister sees problems with Caspian pipeline venture

AFP
BAKU
Petroleumworld.com 02 23 06

Russia's top energy official suggested here Wednesday that a US-backed pipeline project that would bypass Russia by linking Central Asia's gas fields directly with the West was premature.

Russian Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko said the undetermined borders of the Caspian Sea area would be a stumbling bloc for the project, which would cut Russia out of deals to transport Central Asian gas across its territory.

"Resolving the issue of a trans-Caspian system, including the construction of a pipeline, will be possible only after agreeing to a clear understanding of the status of the Caspian," Khristenko told reporters.

The proposed pipeline would link the vast gas reserves of Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan to a yet-unfinished pipeline that will soon connect Azerbaijan's own gas deposits with Europe through Georgia and Turkey.

Top US officials dealing with the region have taken a different view of the project.

The Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian affairs, Matt Bryza, told AFP that it was up to the countries involved to decide whether the project should go ahead

"Several feasibility studies have demonstrated the technical, environmental and economic feasibility of a trans-Caspian pipeline and it is up to the countries through which the pipeline would travel and the investors concerned to decide whether to proceed," Bryza said during a telephone interview.

Bryza added that Saparmurat Niyazov, the president of Turkmenistan, "showed interest in exploring the possibilities of the trans-Caspian pipeline, as well as other options," during a January meeting in Ashgabat.

Azerbaijan currently exports much of its oil through Russia's territory, but an alternative route through a new pipeline linking Baku with the Turkish port of Ceyhan is to open later this year.

"We understand these processes, we are trying to localize the risks," Khristenko said, adding that Russia transported 4.1 million tonnes of Azerbaijani crude through its Novorossiysk pipeline last year.

AFP 02 22 06

Copyright © 2006 AFP. All rights reserved

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