Wednesday, 26 March 2003

DRAWN-OUT IRAQ WAR COULD DELAY CASPIAN PIPE CONSTRUCTION

Published in News Digest

By empty (3/26/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

A drawn-out war in Iraq could delay the construction of a BP Plc-led oil pipeline set to run from Baku to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, a top Azerbaijani oil official said Tuesday. \"We\'re worried that a long war could hold up deliveries of pipes necessary for construction of Baku-Ceyhan,\" Natig Aliyev, president of Azerbaijan state oil company Socar, told reporters. Pipes to be used for construction on Turkish territory are delivered through the Turkish port of Iskenderun, which may be used to launch forces against Iraq, Aliyev said.
A drawn-out war in Iraq could delay the construction of a BP Plc-led oil pipeline set to run from Baku to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, a top Azerbaijani oil official said Tuesday. \"We\'re worried that a long war could hold up deliveries of pipes necessary for construction of Baku-Ceyhan,\" Natig Aliyev, president of Azerbaijan state oil company Socar, told reporters. Pipes to be used for construction on Turkish territory are delivered through the Turkish port of Iskenderun, which may be used to launch forces against Iraq, Aliyev said. \"Right now we are looking at other Turkish ports,\" he said. \"If war breaks out, we will switch from Iskenderun to another port that won\'t be used by the military. BP and (Turkish state pipeline company) Botas are examining the problem.\" The Baku-Ceyhan pipeline, which will also run through the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, is estimated to cost $2.95 billion. Construction is scheduled to end in 2004, and the first oil is to reach Ceyhan in 2005. BP is the largest shareholder in pipeline operator BTC Co. with a 30.1% stake. Other shareholders include Socar, Unocal Corp. and Statoil ASA. (Dow Jones)
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The Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst is a biweekly publication of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program, a Joint Transatlantic Research and Policy Center affiliated with the American Foreign Policy Council, Washington DC., and the Institute for Security and Development Policy, Stockholm. For 15 years, the Analyst has brought cutting edge analysis of the region geared toward a practitioner audience.

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