TALKS ON KAZAKHSTAN'S JOINING TO BTC DUE

Baku, IAA "Trend" May 6 corr. P.Kesamanski

Next round of talks on Kazakhstan's joining to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan main export oil pipeline will be more probable held late May, or early June, 2004, Andar Shukputov, Kazakh Ambassador to Azerbaijan, told journalists, Trend reports. According to Shukputov, the meeting of experts, originally scheduled for April, was postponed due to technical reasons. The diplomat noted that the talks would start in the format of working groups, as they are to accord all issues for the meeting on the top. During the talks it is planned to complete frame intergovernmental agreement Kazakh oil transportation via BTC. The agreement is to be signed by Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Georgia a transit country. The establishment of the Aktau-Baku system envisages the construction of a new terminal for preservation and pumping oil to Kurikh port in 76 km of southeast of Aktau, as well as connecting pipelines. The pumping capacity of the system is 20 million tons a year, it will comprise 7.5 million tons in the initial phase. The amount of investments will be determined after the signing of an intergovernmental agreement. A special company will be established for management over Aktau-Baku system, with four major investors Eni of Italy, Total of France, ConocoPhilips of the United States and Inpex of Japan, which are involved in the Kashagan field development and hold 15% -stake in BTC Co.

BTC project participants are BP (30.1%), SOCAR (25%), Unocal (8.9%), Statoil (8.71%), TPAO (6.53%), Eni (5%), Itochu (3.4%), ConocoPhillips (2.5%), INPEX (2.5%), TotalFinaElf (5%) and Amerada Hess (2.36%). .