06-06-08 US oil company Chevron agreed with Kazakhstan to press ahead with a new domestic oil pipeline, due to be part of a broader $ 3 bn project to link Caspian oil deposits with international markets.
Kazakhstan pumps most of its oil through Russia but it has irritated Moscow in past years by announcing plans to build more pipelines and diversifying exports towards Western Europe.

Chevron said the new pipeline, due to be built along Kazakhstan's western coast on the Caspian Sea, was discussed at a meeting between senior executives of Chevron and Kazakh state oil company KazMunaiGaz.
"Chevron is pleased with the opportunity to develop the Southern Route jointly with Kazakhstan," the company's Kazakhstan office said. "This strategic asset will provide an additional export route to deliver Kazakh crude to the world markets."

The 750 km (466 mile) pipeline is due to feed oil from Kazakhstan's biggest oilfields -- Tengiz, developed by a Chevron-led group, and Kashagan, which has yet to start production -- into the BP-led Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.
Kazakhstan's Yeskene-Kuryk portion of the pipeline, together with a planned trans-Caspian undersea route, is estimated at a total of $ 3 bn, according to previous government estimates.

KazMunaiGaz sees its maximum capacity at up to 56 mm tpy.
Kazakhstan sees this year's oil production at 67.6 mm tons (1.35 mm bpd).