Posted on 06/04/2002 10:16:31 AM PDT by Spar
Bush voices support for oil and gas pipelines leading from Caspian to Turkey
Tue Jun 4, 6:57 AM ET
By AIDA SULTANOVA, Associated Press Writer
BAKU, Azerbaijan - U.S. President George W. Bush (news - web sites) reaffirmed Washington's strong support for the strategic oil and gas pipelines intended to carry rich Caspian Sea energy resources to global markets via Georgia and Turkey in a letter released Tuesday.
"Great progress has been made over the past year toward realizing our shared goal of an east-west corridor to transport Azerbaijani and other Caspian oil and gas to global markets," Bush said in a letter to Azerbaijani President Geidar Aliev welcoming an international energy conference in the capital Baku.
The pipelines are to carry Caspian energy resources — the world's third largest — from Azerbaijan via Georgia to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan en route to Western markets. The United States has long supported their construction as part of its efforts to secure alternative routes for oil and gas exports, limiting the sway of Russia and Iran.
"I'm particularly pleased that the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline continues to advance toward construction, to be followed by the South Caucasus Gas pipeline," Bush said in a letter, read by Steven Mann, the U.S. envoy to the Caspian region.
"These projects will promote prosperity, peace and stability in the Caucasus and make an essential contribution to better integrating Azerbaijan, Georgia and other countries in the region into the global economy," Bush said.
The oil pipeline, expected to carry 1 million barrels of oil a day, would help the West reduce its dependence on Gulf exporters. It also would mean that Caspian Sea oil producers — Azerbaijan, Kazakstan and Turkmenistan — would not depend on Russian pipelines for shipping their oil.
"The United States is ready to work closely with you to promote global energy security and help build a more prosperous and peaceful future for the people of Azerbaijan," Bush said in the letter to Aliev. "I look forward to even greater involvement of U.S. firms in the commercial development of Azerbaijan's energy sector and in fostering broad-based economic growth."
Aliev told the conference Tuesday that dlrs 10 billion in energy project investments are expected in Azerbaijan in the next few years.
Oil from Azerbaijan is now shipped through Russian and Georgian lines. The new pipeline would be used for newly discovered oil.
Its construction is expected to start this summer and be completed by the end of 2004, though there are concerns that tensions in Georgia's breakaway province of Abkhazia and plans for a military operation against al-Qaida fighters nested on Georgia's border with Russia's breakaway Chechnya (news - web sites) province could affect the project.
Russia, which wants Caspian energy pipelines on its own territory, has long opposed the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline. Western oil companies involved in the Caspian Sea oil exploration also have their doubts, saying the proposed route is too costly and was chosen for strategic, not commercial reasons.
(as/vi/bh)
Russia, which wants Caspian energy pipelines on its own territory, has long opposed the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline.Out of the goodness of their hearts, no doubt. Actually to gain transit fees and control the valve on their competitors.
Western oil companies involved in the Caspian Sea oil exploration also have their doubts, saying the proposed route is too costly and was chosen for strategic, not commercial reasons.I've seen this unattributed "fact" many times. "Too costly" compared to what? I smell some backbiting and conflicting interests.
Its construction is expected to start this summer and be completed by the end of 2004, though there are concerns that tensions in Georgia's breakaway province of Abkhazia and plans for a military operation against al-Qaida fighters nested on Georgia's border with Russia's breakaway Chechnya province could affect the project.
Typical centrality on "our" actions. The parapraph should read that there are concerns if there is no military operations against these fronts. This site makes some reference to relocated at least some Islamists to Abkhazia:
Relocation of Islamic fundamentalists from the Caucasus to the Middle East
In my little world, strategic implications would HAVE to be factored into the equation, as the economic costs of repairing the dang thing everytime some nutcase with a cause decided to blow up a section shouldn't be allowed to be ignored.
And that, I suppose, is why I'm neither an oil company executive, or a government official.
One leg of the big game. There's about three more legs of the pipeline to announce.
The WOT must be over, looks like.
Hey, this is a good thing....
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