July 2009 Vol. 236 No. 7

Projects

Trans-Caspian Oil Pipeline Moves Closer

Preparation of tender documents for the proposed 700-km Trans-Caspian oil pipeline is nearing completion, said KazMunaiGaz President Kayrgeldi Kabildin.

The pipeline would transport oil from the offshore Kashagan field, runnning from the port of Aktau to Baku in Azerbaijan where it would connect to the 1,770-km Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline. Project development is also planned to include oil terminals at Kuryk on Kazakhstan’s coast as well as on the Azerbaijani coast.

The Trans-Caspian oil pipeline is part of a larger joint endeavor between KazMunaiGaz and State Oil Company of Azerbaijan to develop Kazakh oil transportation via the BTC pipeline, which will also include a 750-km pipeline connecting Kuryk to the oil processing facility at Eskene. Feasibility studies for this pipeline are near completion.