Development of Kazakhstan's trunk pipelines system requires KZT100bn.- KazTransOil's head

/INTERFAX-KAZAKHSTAN, Astana, September 21, 05/ - It's planned to spend about KZT100 bn. for the development of Kazakhstan's trunk pipelines system. "Total volume of investments into realization of the program on the development of Kazakhstan's trunk pipelines system is planned on the level of KZT100 bn.", - Kayrat Krymov - general director of KazTransOil JSC said. He says it's planned to invest company's own funds as well as funds borrowed on international capital markets. At present, he says, the project of the program is being coordinated in corresponding state structures. Krymov says, the program provides analysis, systematization, and development of a strategic plan for pipelines system development, which comprises replacement, reconstruction and expansion of linear part and other production assets of the existing trunk pipelines, determination of the volume of investments into building of new export routs. "Taking into account the age of the existing pipelines, KazTransOil JSC makes a constant technical monitoring of pipelines condition, by the results of which operative decisions and taken and long-term plans are made", - Krymov said. He says, according to research of trunk infrastructure, at present wearing of company's main production assets is 39%. In accordance with this, Krymov says, according to program's project, in 2006-2010 "it's planned to make major repairs and replace pipe of over 400 km of oil pipelines". Krymov also said about investment projects planned for realization within the program. Among them he called a project providing transportation of Kashagan oil in southern direction. He says at present KazTransOil jointly with Agip KCO is studying variant of Kashagan oil transportation for export by the rout, which will lay from West Iskene to the shore of Caspian sea, where building of bulk-oil terminal Kuryk is planned. Another project is building of Kenkiyak-Aralsk-Kumkol oil pipeline, which is considered the final stage of development of transnational oil pipeline Kazakhstan - China, presumed realization term is in year 2010. It's also planned to reconstruct trunk oil pipeline Atyrau - Samara taking into account forecasts on increase of oil output and consumption in Kazakhstan. In accordance with this it's necessary to expand this pipeline's carrying capacity to 30 m. tons per year, and also adequately expand capacities of corresponding Russia's oil pipelines, Krymov said. It's also planned to build a joining oil pipeline for connection of North Buzachi field to trunk oil pipelines system of KazTransOil JSC. Krymov marks that realization of the program "will let in full volume provide oil transportation according to oil output forecast" - due to modernization of the existing oil pipelines and also as a result of building new oil pipelines. Krymov says at the same time "stage by stage purposeful investing funds into reconstruction, replacement and expansion of production assets, and also into automatization of their management will promote to increase of reliability and safety of pipelines system exploitation". KazTransOil exploits trunk oil pipelines with the length of 5842.8 km, water pipelines with the length of 2145.2 km. Total volume of the company's reserve park is 1306.4 th. cubic meters, of them on oil - 1154 th. cubic meters. In 2004 the company transported over 38 m. tons of oil. [2005-09-22]