Kazakhstan is getting ready to deliver its own and Russian oil to China and Iran

/Almaty bureau REUTERS, December 24, 02/ - Kazakhstan state oil transportation company Kaztransoil intends to build oil pipeline within 4-5 years for transportation of up to 20 m tons a year from western Siberia and Kazakhstan to China, and also will get to building oil pipeline Atyrau-Aktau, which afterwards may be built to Iran, informed a representative of Kaztransoil. "Now there are being fulfilled all works for presenting this pipeline (West Kazakhstan-China) to be made before 2006-2007 ", - said the Minister Kaztransoil's general director Sabr Yesimbekov. "In presence of guaranteed deliveries of Russian oil (through the pipeline from Omsk to Atasu terminal in central Kazakhstan)... Kazakhstan, China and oil producing companies, which are interested in it, may jointly build oil pipeline section Atasu-Alashankou, which afterwards will be integrated to the system of oil pipeline West Kazakhstan - China", - says the company's press-release. Actually at present the only way of Kazakhstan oil export is western one, through Russia by oil pipelines of Caspian pipeline consortium (CPC) and Transneft or by sea transportation to Azerbaijan. Oil is exported to China by railway by small volumes. According to Yesimbekov's words, Kaztransoil conducts negotiations with companies, which produce oil in Western Siberia, in order to make contracts for its transportation for the term of pipeline project recoupment. Besides, filling of the pipeline Kenkiyak-Atyrau with oil of the first link of the planned Chinese rout is being begun already, and the second link, Kumkol-Kenkiyak is to be set in exploitation in the end of 2004. Before building the third link the company intends to use these pipelines for oil pumping from south Kazakhstan to the west of the country, to existing export terminals, and to transport Siberian oil to Uzbekistan and Turkmenia. Yesimbekov also informed that Kaztransoil had made the decision about building a new pipeline, which was meant for transportation of up to 7 m tons a year of "early" Caspian oil from Atyrau, where it would go to from the shelf, to the south, to the port Aktau. The consortium of western oil companies, which is headed by Agip, and which are developing giant field Kashagan at Kazakhstan Caspian shelf, intends in 2005 to start industrial oil production, and by 2015 to come to today's level level of Norway or Mexico - one million barrels a day. Kashagan oil is also expected in CPC, and in the pipeline Baku-Dzheikhan, which will be built through Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, however, according to Yesimbekov's words, the consortium is also interested in southern direction - to Iran, and for this Kaztransoil in the future may make longer its pipeline. "There is wish of oil producing companies, including the ones which participate in international consortium, to produce oil at Western Kashagan and deliver it towards the south, - said Yesimbekov. - We rather seriously examine... the possibility of completing the building (of Atyrau-Aktau pipeline) to the south from Aktau ". One of the preventions from development of Iran rout for Kazakhstan is political factor, in particular, negative position of the USA concerning this matter. However European companies are less sensitive to it. "From technical point of view this project is realizable, it has rather good financial and economic data", - believes Yesimbekov. "At present a number of European companies are developing technical and economic basis of this project and, of course, we examine all possibilities on diversification of Kazakh oil export", - he said. Kashagan consotrium, besodes the operator - Agip - comprises ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, TotalFinaElf (market share of which is equal to 16.67%), and also Inpex and Conoco, which have 8.33% each. TotalFinaElf informed before about its intention to study the Iran rout. Yesimbekov does not exclude that in the future Kaztransoil will also be busy with transit of Russian oil to Iran, having turned direction of the pipeline Atryrau- Samara to the south, the capacity of which is to be increased to 25 m tons a year from existing 15 m. "Talks about this are conducted and we seriously examine this possibility", - he said. In 2002 Kazakhstan intends to produce 47 m tons of oil, which, together with metals, is major export goods, and by 2010 and 1015 to increase production up to 80 and 150 m tons a year, correspondingly. By 2010 Kaztransoil wants to pump up to 70 m tons of oil a year. [2002-12-24]