Pipeliners

March 25, 2008 - United Press International - China is ready to join the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline if India drops out of the $7.4 billion project, Dawn newspaper reported Tuesday quoting Pakistani sources. The report said Pakistan had urged Iran earlier this month to make the project final by next month because of its growing demand for natural gas. Iran informed Pakistan if India remained reluctant to join the project under pressure from the United States, Iran would then invite China to do so, the report said. "(The) Chinese have told us that they are ready to join it," a source in Pakistani petroleum ministry told Dawn. While Pakistan and Iran have completed a gas purchase agreement, India is yet to do so largely because of differences with Pakistan over the transit fee for the fuel transported through Pakistan. The report said Pakistan wants Iran to increase the volume of gas it will supply by 50 percent if India opts out of the deal. It wasn't clear how the specifications would change if China comes into the project.

ANKARA, March 25 (RIA Novosti) - The future of the Western-backed Nabucco trans-Caspian gas pipeline that is designed to bypass Russia could be in jeopardy, the Turkish daily Cumhuriyet said on Tuesday. Commenting on the results of talks held between the Turkmen president and Turkish leaders on Monday in Ankara, the paper said that the parties had failed to agree on the delivery of Turkmenistan's natural gas to Turkey for the Nabucco project. The $7-8 billion Nabucco pipeline, backed by the EU and the U.S., is expected to link energy-rich Central Asia to Europe through Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria. Construction has been tentatively scheduled to begin in 2010. Without the support of Turkmenistan, a major natural gas producer in Central Asia, the Nabucco project is unrealistic, the paper said. In what was widely seen as a major blow to the Nabucco project, Russia, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan signed a deal in December to supply the Asian states' Caspian gas via Russia. Moscow also reached deals with Bulgaria and Serbia earlier this year on the South Stream pipeline to pump Central Asian gas to Europe.

03.13.2008 - [Neftegaz.RU] - Finland doesn not like the idea that the major gas pipeline project between Russia and Germany is built by a private consortium, the country's Foreign Minister said. The Nord Stream consortium, owned by Russia’s Gazprom with Germany’s BASF, E.ON and Dutch Gasunie plans a 1,200 kilometer subsea pipeline in the Baltic Sea, linking the two countries. Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva said Finland has environmental concerns regarding the pipeline but that the Nordic country did not see a security policy threat in the project, as suggested by some countries opposing it. Poland, along with the Baltic Countries and Sweden have along with Finland raised ecological and other concerns about the pipeline. Warsaw fears Nord Stream bypassing its territory would enable Russia to cut off crucial gas supplies to Poland, while continuing to deliver to Western Europe.

NOVO-OGARYOVO, March 8 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday the construction of the Nord Stream gas pipeline will proceed in line with the schedule. "I will say once again that we are firm in our intention to continue joint construction of the Nord Stream gas pipeline in line with the plans and the schedule," Putin told journalists after a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Russian energy giant Gazprom is building the pipeline together with Germany's E.ON under the Baltic Sea to pump Russian natural gas to Germany. Merkel said in turn that Germany regards the project as a very important one for Europe's energy security. She also said other EU countries should not suffer from the project implementation and should "be able to participate."

KHABAROVSK, March 5 (RIA Novosti) - The construction of the second stage of an oil pipeline being built from East Siberia to the Pacific Ocean could begin in the second half of 2009, a project manager said on Wednesday. The East Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline project is slated to pump up to 1.6 million barrels of crude per day from Siberia to Russia's Far East and then on to China and the Asia-Pacific region. "The project's feasibility study is to undergo a state expert study in December 2008. If the Russian government gives a special instruction, we could launch the construction of the project's second stage in the second half of 2009," said Sergei Sergeyev, head of the ESPO-2 project management center. Sergeyev said the project's second stage was estimated at 320-330 billion rubles (about $13 billion) in 2006 prices, and would take at least four years. The ESPO first stage envisages the construction of a 2,757-kilometer (1,713-mile) section with capacity of 30 million tons (220.5 million bbl) of oil per year. The project's first leg will link Taishet, in East Siberia's Irkutsk Region, to Skovorodino, in the Amur Region, in Russia's Far East. The project's first leg, estimated at $11 billion, was expected to be commissioned in December 2008. However, project operator Transneft said on February 7 that the commissioning of the project would be delayed from late 2008 to late 2009. The second leg will stretch for 2,100 kilometers (1,304 miles) from Skovorodino to the Pacific. It will pump 367.5 million barrels of oil annually. The second stage also envisages an increase in the Taishet-Skovorodino pipeline's capacity to 588 million barrels.

05 March 2008 - Vzglyad - There are differences regarding transportation of Azerbaijani gas by Nabucco project between Azerbaijan and Turkey. The due announcement was made by US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza by results of the meeting with Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov. M.Bryza stressed the necessity to achieve agreements between Baku and Ankara, "It is time to settle this issue", the US diplomat said and added that each side has its own arguments and it is difficult to reach an agreement". M.Bryza noted that commercial provisions of the agreement are implied, in particular, tariffs of transit. It should be reminded that Nabucoo project envisions gas transportation by Turkey-Bulgaria-Romania-Hungary-Austria route.

03 March 2008 - Today.Az - Kazakh experts are visiting Baku to discuss an agreement on the Trans-Caspian pipeline. The due information has been provided by Rovnag Abdullayev, president of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan. R.Abdullayev noted that talks on the Trans-Caspian project are carried out with the Kazakh government and KazMunayGaz. He announced that a joint venture will be created with Kazakh KazMunayGaz. "At the same time, terminals will be constructed in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. Moreover, we will carry out these operations using Kazakh and Azerbaijani vessels. Kazakh experts are currently staying here, works on the said issue are carried out and an agreement will probably be concluded in the near future", SOCAR President said.