Pipeliners

MOSCOW, December 26, 2008 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has signed a law to ratify an agreement with Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to build a natural gas pipeline along the Caspian coast. The law was passed by the lower house on December 19 and approved by senators on December 22. The pipeline, which is part of plans to modernize and expand the Central Asian region's gas network, will run from Turkmenistan along the Caspian coast of Kazakhstan and on to Russia for further transportation to Europe. The joint agreement to construct the pipeline was signed on December 20, 2007. The pipeline is expected to transport an estimated 30 billion cubic meters of gas from Turkmenistan and up to 10 billion cubic meters from Kazakhstan.