09 June 2004 12:45
KIYIKOY-IBRIKBABA PIPE GETS THUMBS DOWN
MOSCOW. June 9 (Interfax) - Participants in an intergovernmental meeting on oil transport bypassing the Bosporus and
Dardanelles straits on Tuesday did not support a project to build the Kiyikoy-Ibrikbaba pipeline through Turkish
territory, being proposed by Transneft, a source in one of the oil companies that participated in the meeting told
Interfax.
The source said that during the discussion it was noted that the project does not involve participation by the
Russian side, including via Transneft.
The source said that participants in the meeting considered three
main potential projects to bypass the straits: the Burgas-
According to the oil companies, transportation of oil through the straits is economically more profitable than
building a pipeline and transshipping the oil twice.
The participants in the meeting also said that the Turkish- American-Kazakh company Thrace Development has prepared
the Igneade- Saros pipeline project, similar to the Kiyikoy-Ibrikbaba project.
The participants in the meeting decided to set up a special working
group with the participation of the Russian Industry and Energy
Alexandroupolis, Kiyikoy-Ibrikbaba and the Ireglia-Izmit-Ali-Aga pipeline, which passes through the Asian part of
Turkey. The latter, which was also proposed by Transneft, is at the initial stage of development.
Meanwhile, representatives from the Russian Transport and Communications Ministry proposed an alternative route,
supported by participants in the meeting - the construction of a pipeline to the Barents Sea in the north, from Usinsk
to Indiga, the source said.
"For the moment discussion is about establishing a route, then concrete construction projects will be
developed," he said.
Ministry, Transneft and oil companies, that should establish the cost of preparing feasibility studies for the
proposed routes.
Representatives from Rosneft, Lukoil, Tatneft, TNK-BP, the Industry and Energy Ministry, the Transport Ministry, the
Foreign Ministry and the Economic Development and Trade Ministry participated in the meeting.
For the moment the Bosporus is the only transit route to export Russian oil from the Black Sea. Turkey tightened
controls over shipping through the straits last year which, combined with bad weather in the region, led to tanker jams
and delays in supplies of Russian oil to Europe. This situation is expected to worsen with the launch of the Baku-
Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. Russia accounted for over 60 million tonnes of the total 80 million tonnes of oil to pass
through the straits in 2003.
Several pipeline projects are currently being developed to bypass the Bosporus: the Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline,
with a capacity of 35 million tonnes per year; the Odessa-Brody-Gdansk pipeline (45 million tonnes); the Burgas-Vlore
pipe (40 million tonnes); the Constanta-Novy Sad pipeline and the Kiyikoy-Ibrikbaba pipeline (60 million tonnes).
[Interfax] |
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