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Officials Inaugurate Azerbaijan Pipeline
AP Online
May 25, 2005
AIDA SULTANOVA
Officials on Wednesday inaugurated the first section of an 1,100-mile
U.S.-backed pipeline bringing Caspian Sea oil to Western markets.
The presidents from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Turkey were on
hand for the ceremony at the Sangachal oil terminal, about 25 miles
south of the Azeri capital, Baku, to open the taps for the first drops
of oil to enter the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.
The pipeline from the Azeri capital to the Turkish Mediterranean port
of Ceyhan is seen as a significant move toward reducing the West's
dependence on Middle Eastern oil. Most Caspian oil exports previously
have moved through Russian pipelines.
The $3.2 billion project, with a capacity of 1 million barrels a day,
is the first direct oil link between the landlocked Caspian, which is
thought to contain the world's third largest oil and gas reserves, and
the Mediterranean. The pipeline, built by a consortium led by the BP
oil company, passes through Georgia en route to Turkey.
All three countries look to earn substantial revenue from the pipeline
through transit fees and royalties.
"This pipeline first of all will help solve economic and social
problems, but the role of the pipeline in strengthening peace and
security in the region also is not small," Azerbaijan's President
Ilham Aliev said at the opening ceremony.
Azerbaijan is banking on the pipeline to raise its profile in the
world and swing international support behind Baku in its dispute with
Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, which ethnic Armenian
separatists took control of more than a decade ago. The conflict
continues to simmer, undermining the region's security.
Pipeline officials said it would take up to a month and a half to fill
the Azerbaijani section of the pipeline. The Georgian part will be
ready after that, and then the Turkish stretch, which Turkish
authorities have said should be filled by Aug. 15.
It will take approximately 10 million barrels of crude to fill the
entire pipeline.
AP Online
May 25, 2005
AIDA SULTANOVA
Officials on Wednesday inaugurated the first section of an 1,100-mile
U.S.-backed pipeline bringing Caspian Sea oil to Western markets.
The presidents from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Turkey were on
hand for the ceremony at the Sangachal oil terminal, about 25 miles
south of the Azeri capital, Baku, to open the taps for the first drops
of oil to enter the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.
The pipeline from the Azeri capital to the Turkish Mediterranean port
of Ceyhan is seen as a significant move toward reducing the West's
dependence on Middle Eastern oil. Most Caspian oil exports previously
have moved through Russian pipelines.
The $3.2 billion project, with a capacity of 1 million barrels a day,
is the first direct oil link between the landlocked Caspian, which is
thought to contain the world's third largest oil and gas reserves, and
the Mediterranean. The pipeline, built by a consortium led by the BP
oil company, passes through Georgia en route to Turkey.
All three countries look to earn substantial revenue from the pipeline
through transit fees and royalties.
"This pipeline first of all will help solve economic and social
problems, but the role of the pipeline in strengthening peace and
security in the region also is not small," Azerbaijan's President
Ilham Aliev said at the opening ceremony.
Azerbaijan is banking on the pipeline to raise its profile in the
world and swing international support behind Baku in its dispute with
Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, which ethnic Armenian
separatists took control of more than a decade ago. The conflict
continues to simmer, undermining the region's security.
Pipeline officials said it would take up to a month and a half to fill
the Azerbaijani section of the pipeline. The Georgian part will be
ready after that, and then the Turkish stretch, which Turkish
authorities have said should be filled by Aug. 15.
It will take approximately 10 million barrels of crude to fill the
entire pipeline.