Kazakhstan has concluded agreement with the foreign companies about construction of oil pipeline from Karachaganak deposit to the CPC pipeline

/IRBIS, Dec.22, 99/ - According to PRIME TASS, Kazakhstan has concluded the agreement with group of the foreign companies concerning construction of an export oil pipeline, which will connect Karachaganak deposit with the pipeline of Caspian Pipeline Consortium /CPC/. The signing ceremony was held on Tuesday in Washington at the presence of the president of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbaev during his official visit in USA. The document have been signed by the investments agency of Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan company "Kazakoil", English British Gas, Italian ENI, American Texaco and Russian "LUKOIL". According to ITAR TASS, cost of the project is $2.1 billion. The new 460 km line will pass from Bolshoi Chagan to Atyrau. It will allow to increase within two years oil production on the deposit to 9 million tons per year. It is expected that for the same period the gas production will increase there to 11 billion cubic meters a year. Conversing with the journalists, the President of Kazakhstan has noted, that with allowance for prospects of oil production approximately in 5 years new oil pipelines will be necessary. One from them can be the pipeline Baku - Ceyhan, supported by Turkey, Azerbaijan and USA. Nazarbaev has informed that at the meeting with the American Vice-president he has confirmed that Kazakhstan will be ready to grant its oil for transportation through this route. For this purpose it is necessary to lay an underwater oil pipeline from the east to the western coast of the sea. In 2000 the technical and economic assessment of the transcaspian project will be prepared. The President of Kazakhstan was in Washington in connection with the next meeting of an intergovernmental commission, which is headed by him and American Vice-president.