Not for commercial use. Solely to be used for the educational purposes of research and open discussion.
Unocal is desperately trying to broker an agreement between warring factions to support its $2.5 billion plan to build a pipeline across Afghanistan
The giant US oil and gas company Unocal is desperately trying to broker an agreement between warring factions to support its $2.5 bil plan to build a pipeline across Afghanistan.
Unocal has been trying to win the fealty of all sides in Afghanistan by giving unconventional gifts to Afghanistan's warring factions--gifts which are arriving at a crucial time for both Unocal and the war-torn nation. Afghanistan is at the center of a seismic shift in regional politics that could sharply rearrange alliances in Central Asia and establish economic dependence for countries in the region. To the north lies the Daultabad natural gas field, which is estimated to hold 20+ tril cubic feet of gas, the third largest reserve of gas in the world. The country also holds some 47 bil barrels of crude oil, about half that of Kuwait, while yet further to the north, the vast fields of Uzbekistan, Kazakhastan and Azerbaijan are legends in the petroleum industry. With its partner Delta Oil, Unocal plans to pipe natural gas from Turkmenistan nearly 1,000 miles through Afghanistan to Pakistan. The Delta-Unocal consortium also has plans for another pipeline to funnel as much as one million barrels of oil a day to warm-water ports, where petroleum could then be shipped to the oil-hungry West. But the long civil war in Afghanistan has made the future of the project anything but certain. Despite these developments, Unocal and Delta signed an agreement in 7/97 with Turkmenistan and Pakistan that the project would begin in 1998, despite earlier statements that investors would not support the project until peace came to Afghanistan and it had a representative government. Unocal's confidence also is belied by the fact that the Taliban have yet to commit their support for Unocal's project. BOSTON, Aug. 17 (IPS) -- You can't keep a good Yankee trader down. While rockets rain down in towns across Afghanistan, the giant U.S. oil and gas company Unocal is desperately trying to broker an agreement between warring factions to support its $2.5 billion plan to build a pipeline across the Central Asian nation. Latest reports from Afghanistan indicate fighting has intensified north of the Capital Kabul between Taliban militia units and Northern Alliance coalition forces, but Unocal is attempting to soothe financiers' fears that the controversial project is an impossible dream. Unocal has been trying to win the fealty of all sides in Afghanistan with an arsenal of unconventional gifts ranging from medical supplies to fax machines, generators and frisbees. Some gifts, however, have been made exclusively to the Taliban -- an organization that has been the focus of international condemnation for its treatment of women and harsh punishments meted out to non-conformists. Unocal spokesman Terry Convington confirmed that in order to facilitate talks with the Taliban, a delegation from Unocal and its Saudi partner Delta Oil presented Taliban leaders with a fax machine and a generator during a visit to Southern Afghanistan. The company has not provided similar in-kind donations to factions in the northern stronghold. "It's not unusual for our company to provide humanitarian assistance in any country where we work," says Covington. While company officials generally leave "things that people could use," Unocal-emblazoned souvenirs, including frisbees, hats and T-shirts, are also common gifts to children -- "that's the way we do business." The unusual gifts to Afghanistan's warring factions are arriving at a crucial time for both Unocal and the war-torn nation. Afghanistan is squarely at the center of a seismic shift in regional politics that could sharply rearrange alliances in Central Asia and establish economic dependence for countries in the region. Below Turkmenistan to the north lies the Daultabad natural gas field, which is estimated to hold over 20 trillion cubic feet of gas, the third largest reserve of gas in the world. The country also holds some 47 billion barrels of crude oil, about half that of Kuwait, while yet further to the north, the vast fields of Uzbekistan, Kazakhastan and Azerbaijan are legends in the petroleum industry. With its partner Delta Oil, Unocal plans to pipe natural gas from Turkmenistan nearly 1,000 miles through Afghanistan to Pakistan. The Delta-Unocal consortium also has plans for another pipeline to funnel as much as one million barrels of oil a day to warm-water ports, where petroleum could then be shipped to the oil-hungry West. |
But the long civil war in Afghanistan has made the future of the project anything but certain. When the government of President Burhanuddin Rabbani in Kabul fell to Taliban forces last fall, it appeared that a Taliban victory was imminent after a two-and-a-half year campaign which saw the Taliban seize about two-thirds of Afghanistan. The Taliban -- Sunni Muslims whose followers are largely from the Durrani branch of the Pushtun tribe -- have drawn international condemnation for the groups' harsh treatment of women, other ethnic minorities, and non-conformists to their strict codes of dress and conduct. Just last month, Amnesty International reported that the Taliban have detained and tortured some 2,000 Tajik and Hazara minorites in the notorious Pul-e Charkhi prison. The Taliban practice a "gender apartheid," according to reports by other Human Rights watchdogs. Women are banned from schools and other public institutions. For infractions such as wearing nail polish, women are punished with amputations or public beatings. Indiscriminate killings, stonings, beatings and summary executions of men and women alike are commonplace in Taliban-held territories, according to reports. Fighting between the Taliban and the Northern Alliance -- which has links with Iran and Russia -- erupted again last month when forces lead by Ahmed Shah Masood and General Abdul Malik launched attacks from their Hindu Kush stronghold and seized strategic mountain passes north of Kabul. The Taliban have lost between 2,000 and 3,000 seasoned fighters, and Masood boasts that his forces could take Kabul at any time. Despite these developments, Unocal and Delta signed an agreement in July with Turkmenistan and Pakistan that the project would begin in 1998, despite earlier statements that investors would not support the project until peace came to Afghanistan and it had a representative government. Unocal's confidence also is belied by the fact that the Taliban have yet to commit their support for either Unocal's project or that of Argentine competitor Bridas, which plans to build a parallel pipeline. Unocal says it maintains a position of "strict political neutrality" in the civil war, but Chris Taggart, executive vice president of Unocal Turkmenistan, was the subject of sharp criticism last October when he called Taliban military advances "a step forward." "Anything that brings stability and the establishment of a government is a great plus for the (pipeline) project," he said at the time. Officials in the Afghan embassy in Washington believe that Unocal continues to favor the Taliban over other factions, citing as an example the fact that company has opened an office in Kandahar, a southern Taliban stronghold. "They haven't opened an office in the turf of any of the other factions," said an Afghan embassy official. "Their links with the Taliban have been quite good. They claim to be in contact with all factions, but they've never come into this embassy ever to talk to anybody." While it is a "routine occurrence" for the company to give humanitarian assistance such as water, food and medical supplies to all fighting forces at the conclusion of talks, the fax machine and the generator to run it remained a sore point with non-Taliban Afghans. "(Unocal representatives) realized that they would have no way to communicate with the Taliban and left the equipment so that it could be used to continue communicating with the Taliban on an ongoing basis," said Unocal's Covington. "Was there a need to do so with the faction in the North? The answer is no." Covington stressed "It's not an issue of support for the pipeline. In order to get financing from multilateral lending institutions, you need a recognized government in place...we want to be in a position to start construction when Afghanistan allows these last few links to be concluded." As evidence of neutrality, the company cites a $900,000 contract with the University of Nebraska at Omaha to open two branches of the Center for Afghanistan Studies, which was formerly funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. One branch of the Center will be in Taliban territory, the other in opposition territory. Both will train Afghans in skills necessary to build the pipeline. The U.S. government, which could be well served by oil-rich client states in the region, is also taking a wait-and-see attitude. While still recognizing the Rabbanni government, U.S. has not taken sides in the civil war. An official at the U.S. State Department's regional affairs desk, believes that Unocal is doing the same. "Unocal knows that the way to get the project accomplished is not to set up their own guys to take over the country," the State department official said. "What they need is for the Afghans to work out a government that will be responsive to all Afghans. Power may grow out of the barrel of a gun, but a gas pipeline cannot continue for decades just supported by force." |
Not for commercial use. Solely to be used for the educational purposes of research and open discussion.
NEW DELHI: Ashqabad, capital of Turkmenistan, which professes "neutrality" with regard to any conflict in the region, is the hub of these contacts, well placed diplomatic sources say. The most preferred venue, however, is Pakistan, where diplomats have been interacting with the Taliban. Last month, a senior official accompanying Chinese Foreign Minister Tang met Ambassador Haqqani who represents the Kabul regime. US ambassador to Pakistan, William B. Milaim, had a much-publicised meeting in with Mohammed Naim Khan, head of the Afghan commissionerate in Peshawar. The Frontier Post prominently carried a photograph, but gave no details. |
The French initiative is being credited to the interest shown by the country's il multinational corporations in Central Asian oil and gas reserves. Unocal, a US MNC that planned to pay a $ 2.5 billion gas pipeline from Daulatabad in Turkmenistan to Pakistan through Afghanistan, closed its operations last year. But this and many other MNCs are awaiting conducive times to resume work on this and other projects. |
September 28, 2001
LETTER TO THE EDITOR - UNOCAL CORP.: THE CENTGAS CONSORTIUM DID NOT SUPPORT ONE FACTION OVER ANOTHER IN AFGHANISTAN
Dear Editor,
My name is Teresa Covington and I work for Unocal Corporation, handling international corporate communications.
I am contacting you to provide some information and correct a statement made in the September 25th article entitled "Ahad Andican: Taliban, as a remote controlled movement, can be erased by Afghans themselves." The background for our company's previous participation in a consortium of companies that proposed the Central Asia Gas Pipeline Project (CentGas), which would have traversed Afghanistan, can be found on our web site (www.unocal.com). You will see that Unocal withdrew from that consortium in 1998.
This information is relevant in two respects. First, since our withdrawal, Unocal has had no contact with either faction in Afghanistan. Therefore, the statement that Unocal invited the Taliban to California last year is incorrect.
The CentGas consortium did not support one faction over another. Any informational meetings held were held with both factions, separately. Unocal hosted a visit by representatives of what is known as the "Northern Alliance" in Houston in 1996 and by representatives of the Taliban in Houston in 1997. The purpose of the meetings in Houston was to provide information on the pipeline proposal and to clearly indicate what was required for the project to move forward -- the establishment of an internationally recognized government in Afghanistan that represented all the people of Afghanistan.
As you will see from the information on our web site, Unocal subsequently withdrew from the consortium in 1998.
I am not sure of your policy regarding corrections but hope that this information here and on our web site is useful to you either way.
Thank You,
Teresa Covington
I say we are at war with Islam. Nobody will say it because of business reasons. We want to continue to make huge profits in business dealings with the muslim countries. I just hope that our survival isn't compromized because of that.
Islam is the successor to communism.. Russia is fighting them in Chechynia.