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http://www.atimes.com Middle East The geopolitics of pipelines By Paola Ceragioli and Maurizio Martellini Over the past 90 years Iran, with its huge oil reserves representing 9 percent of those of the world, has founded its strategic and economic interests in the Persian Gulf on oil. Its economy is based on oil export revenues, which contribute as much as 80 percent of its total export earnings and 40-50 percent of the government budget. In recent years, Iran has held a share in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) production of 13-14 percent. In order to maintain this share, it needs...

BRUSSELS -- The European Union (news - web sites) Tuesday threw its political weight behind a controversial pipeline bringing oil from the Caspian Sea to Europe via Ukraine. Related Quotes DJIANASDAQ^SPC 8781.351556.69951.48 +179.97+46.60+18.26 delayed 20 mins - disclaimerQuote Data provided by Reuters   EU support is crucial to the launch of the project, both in terms of political backing as well as loans, since the main buyers will be European countries, notably Poland and Germany. A political agreement on the pipeline, know as Odessa-Brody, was signed by the EU's top energy official and ministers from Ukraine and Poland at a meeting...

DAMASCUS, Syria -- Secretary of State Colin Powell accused Syrian President Bashar Assad of misleading him about oil deliveries from Iraq as they prepared to meet on the implications of the fall of President Saddam Hussein. Two years ago, Powell said, Assad assured him that oil from Iraq was not flowing through a pipeline to Syria. That, he said, turned out to be false. Powell said he had not forgotten that Assad made the promise.

Auburn, Washington....just heard on the radio....happened a few minutes ago...the explosion lasted a full ten seconds....huge flames....homes, schools, offices for a mile around are being evacuated...many government facilities closeby. No further news for now.

Israel seeks pipeline for Iraqi oil US discusses plan to pump fuel to its regional ally and solve energy headache at a stroke Plans to build a pipeline to siphon oil from newly conquered Iraq to Israel are being discussed between Washington, Tel Aviv and potential future government figures in Baghdad. The plan envisages the reconstruction of an old pipeline,inactive since the end of the British mandate in Palestine in 1948, when the flow from Iraq's northern oilfields to Palestine was re-directed to Syria. Now, its resurrection would transform economic power in the region,bringing revenue to the new US-dominated Iraq,...

Israel stands to benefit greatly from the US led war on Iraq, primarily by getting rid of an implacable foe in President Saddam Hussein and the threat from the weapons of mass destruction he was alleged to possess. But it seems the Israelis have other things in mind. An intriguing pointer to one potentially significant benefit was a report by Haaretz on 31 March that minister for national infrastructures Joseph Paritzky was considering the possibility of reopening the long-defunct oil pipeline from Mosul to the Mediterranean port of Haifa. With Israel lacking energy resources of its own and depending on...

U.S. concentrating forces near Syrian border <!****************************Cut and Paste Headline Above*****************> SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COMWednesday, April 16, 2003 <!********************Cut and Paste Article Below********************>The United States has bolstered its military presence near the Iraqi- Syrian border. U.S. officials said Central Command has ordered a buildup of assets in western Iraq. They said the buildup is centered at Al Rutba and includes M1A1 main battle tanks, AH-64A attack helicopters and A-10 ground-support fighter-jets. The U.S. move aims to prevent the escape of Iraqi leaders and nonconventional military assets to Syria. They said U.S. forces will also ensure that Arab foreign volunteers...

Cutoff of Cheap Iraq Oil Could Hurt Syria By BRUCE STANLEY .c The Associated Press LONDON (AP) - Until war erupted in neighboring Iraq, illicit supplies of cheap Iraqi oil helped buoy Syria's frail economy and enabled its government to put off making painful reforms. Now, with U.S. troops shutting down the pipeline used for these shipments, Syria must adjust to a loss of $1 billion in annual income at the same time the United States is threatening to intensify the pressure by imposing economic sanctions on Damascus. An end to shipments of cut-rate Iraqi crude will bleed the Syrian...

The Pentagon (CNSNews.com) - U.S. forces have shut down a pipeline used by the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein to pump 200,000 barrels of oil a day into Syria in violation of the Oil for Food program, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Tuesday. "Whether it's the only one and whether that has completely stopped the flow of oil between Iraq and Syria, I cannot tell you," Rumsfeld told reporters at a briefing. "We do not have perfect knowledge. We do know that they were instructed to shut it down, and they told us that they have," he said. The U.S....

WASHINGTON - U.S. military engineers have reported that they shut down a pipeline used for illegal oil shipments from Iraq (news - web sites) to Syria, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Tuesday. AP Photo Latest news: · Looters Ransack Iraq's National Library AP - 22 minutes ago · Iraqis Seek News About Missing Relatives AP - 38 minutes ago · U.S. Urges Iraqis to Work Together as Talks BeginReuters - 44 minutes ago Special Coverage   But Rumsfeld said he could not guarantee that the pipeline was completely shut off or that oil was not being clandestinely shipped from...

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Tuesday that U.S. forces have shut down a pipeline used for illegal oil shipments from Iraq (news - web sites) to Syria, but he could not assure that oil is not still flowing between those two countries. During a question-and-answer session with reporters, Rumsfeld denied that coalition forces had destroyed any pipelines. "We have preserved infrastructure in that country," he said. However, Rumsfeld said, coalition forces are working on securing the particular illegal pipeline. "I hope they have cut it off," he said. There were allegations that, in violation of U.N. sanctions,...

U.S. Seeks to Shut Down Pipeline to Syria By MATT KELLEY .c The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Tuesday that U.S. forces have shut down a pipeline used for illegal oil shipments from Iraq to Syria, but he could not assure that oil is not still flowing between those two countries. During a question-and-answer session with reporters, Rumsfeld denied that coalition forces had destroyed any pipelines. ``We have preserved infrastructure in that country,'' he said. However, Rumsfeld said, coalition forces are working on securing the particular illegal pipeline. ``I hope they have cut it...

PRESIDENT ASSAD of Syria, under increasing pressure from Washington to end his country’s links with terrorism, will be powerless to do so, intelligence sources said. He remains a prisoner of his own intelligence barons and the rest of the “old guard” in Damascus. These shadowy figures and the other power- brokers who owed allegiance to President Assad’s late father will dictate how Syria responds to US demands to sever all links with the terrorist group Hezbollah and to refuse sanctuary to members of Saddam Hussein’s deposed regime. One intelligence source said: “President Assad has reforming instincts, but his hands are...

Gov't denies plans to restart Kirkuk-Haifa oil pipeline AMMAN (JT) — The government categorically denied on Wednesday a news report claiming that officials from Jordan and Israel will meet to discuss the possibility of restarting an old oil pipeline linking oil-rich Iraq with the Israeli port of Haifa on the Mediterranean via Jordan. Minister of State for Political Affairs and Minister of Information Mohammad Adwan was quoted by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, as saying the report was “fabricated.” “No contacts have been made with anyone regarding such an issue,” Adwan, who is also the government spokesperson, told Petra. Minister...

United States Special Operations forces sabotaged Kirkuk-Banias pipeline cutting flow of illegal oil exports smuggled through Syria.Damascus notifies buyers that 2003 supply has been diminished by 40pc, equal to 240,000 barrels per day-exactly the quantity that Iraq previously pumped through.

Gas line from Alaska proposed WASHINGTON -- A plan to tap huge energy resources in Alaska to head off shortages in the rest of the United States is being revived in Congress. But this time, the energy is natural gas, not the protected and contested oil reserves of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Alaskan legislators and two major oil companies are asking Congress to underwrite part of the estimated $20 billion cost of building a 3,600-mile pipeline connecting Alaska's North Slope with the U.S. heartland. The project could deliver as much as 4.5 billion cubic feet of gas daily...

India Asked To Join The Trans-Afghan Gas Pipeline Project Updated on 2003-02-22 22:35:48 ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Feb 22 (PNS)- The petroleum ministers of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkmenistan on Saturday reached an agreement to invite India for multi-billion pipeline to carry Turkmenistan's natural gas to the Indian Ocean via Afghanistan and Pakistan. The ministerial committee for the Trans-Afghan Gas Pipeline (TAP) has formally invited India to join the gigantic project as the viability of the project depends upon the extension of the pipeline to India. "It was agreed during the Steering Committee Meeting that the parties acting jointly, would formally forward the...

<p>ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan (AP) -- Leaders from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkmenistan met Thursday to work out the final details of an ambitious deal to build a gas pipeline through war-ravaged Afghanistan.</p> <p>The long-delayed $3.2-billion natural gas pipeline, known as the Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline, would carry gas from energy-rich Turkmenistan to Pakistan. It would be one of the first major investment projects in Afghanistan in decades.</p>

Deal likely on trans-Afghan pipelineSaturday, 21-Dec-2002, 5:38pmDec 21 (Hoovers) -- Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkmenistan are scheduled to meet on December 26-27 to sign an agreement for construction of a trans-Afghan pipeline that would carry gas from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan and Pakistan and possibly, including India at a later stage.The three heads of state &#151; Afghanistans Hamid Karzai, Pakistans Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali and Turkmenistans President Suparmurat Niyazov &#151; are scheduled to gather in the Turkmen capital, Ashgabat to ink the deal.Several issues related to the project, including financing are yet to be worked out. Currently the Asian Development...

FERC hears allegations of El Paso's wrongdoing By Joe Cantlupe COPLEY NEWS SERVICEDecember 3, 2002WASHINGTON – California officials urged federal energy regulators yesterday to approve a judge's finding that El Paso Corp. manipulated natural gas supplies, saying the company acted improperly during the state's energy crisis. State officials and lawyers for other power suppliers lambasted El Paso for intentionally withholding natural gas deliveries to California to generate hefty profits in 2000 and 2001. But the beleaguered Texas company told the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission it was wrongly being used as a scapegoat for failed California energy policies. FERC commissioners conducted the...