Kazakhstan does not want Russia to regulate tariffs of CPC oil pipeline

/REUTERS, Almaty, Oljas Auezov, February 23, 04/ - Kazakhstan does not agree with the intention of Russia's government to include the pipeline consortium (CPC) in the register of natural monopolies and regulate its tariffs for oil transportation, said representative of oil and gas company Kazmunaygas on Monday. CPC's oil pipeline with the strength of 1,580 kilometers joins fields of West Kazakhstan with Russia's coast of the Black Sea, since starting in November of 2001 pumping about 1.3 million tons of oil a month. Planned capacity of the first turn of the first on the territory of former USSR big private oil pipeline is 28.2 m. tons of oil a year and in the future it is to grow up to 67 m. tons. "This willingness to put CPC on the list of natural monopolies runs counter to the obligations undertaken by the Russian government under a 1996 agreement (on setting the CPC consortium)," Kairgeldy Kabyldin, managing director of Kazakh state oil and gas firm KazMunaiGas said at the press-conference, which was telecastyed in Alma-Ata. In December of 2004 Ministry of energy of Russia agreed with arguments of Federal energy commission (FEC), which insisted upon including of CPC in the register of natural monopolies of Russia. It means that already in the first half of the next year tariffs for oil pumping for Russian part of CPC will be set by FEC. "The agreement stipulates that both Russia and Kazakhstan give up their sovereign rights to regulate and control CPC activities ", - added Kabyldin. CPC belongs to governments of Russia, Kazakhstan and Oman, and also to companies ChevronTexaco, Agip, ExxonMobil and LUKOIL. [2004-02-23]