Kazakhstan betting on several horses

May 12, 1998 Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev has said recently his oil-rich but land-locked state had strategic interests in several oil transportation projects within the regional Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO).
"Of the 5 ECO projects to build regional pipelines, 3 are in Kazakhstan's geo-strategic interests," Nazarbayev told the summit of the ECO that groups Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, Afghanistan and 6 former Soviet republics.
He said the 3 pipelines included 1 to be stretched from the Kazakh port of Aktau across the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan's capital Baku. This line will then run across ex-Soviet Georgia to Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan or to the Black sea outlet of Supsa.
Turkish State Minister Ahat Andican said that implementation of the project could start by the end of this year and end by 2002. This route is backed not only by oil-producing Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan and the transit states, but also by Washington,
Nazarbayev said the second project involved a pipeline from western Kazakhstan to the Gulf via Turkmenistan and Iran.
The third project aims to deliver Kazakh oil to Pakistan via Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan.
"We are also interested in laying gas pipelines along these routes parallel to the oil ones," Nazarbayev told.
"This co-operation within the ECO is very important for Kazakhstan," the president told later.
Nazarbayev ruled out any political considerations in choosing future export routes.
"If there is a decision to go through Iran, it's the shortest route for Kazakhstan. If it is decided to go through the Caspian-Caucasus, it's also suitable for Kazakhstan."
While both Kazakh officials and oil experts decline to say when the pipelines to Iran and Pakistan could be built. Kazakhstan, which aims to boost its oil output to 2.4-2.6 mm bpd from last year's 551,000 bpd, is already close to implementing several other pipeline projects.
Nazarbayev said that his Central Asian state's current consumption of crude estimated at 260,000 bpd, was unlikely to rise to more than 400,000 bpd in the foreseeable future.
He named the multinational Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which aims to build a 1,500 km pipeline from the Tengiz oil field in western Kazakhstan to Russia's Black Sea export outlet of Novorossiisk.
CPC, with an initial capacity of 560,000 bpd expected to rise to 1.34 mm bpd, is expected to set a starting date for construction later this month.

Nazarbayev said that a pipeline through north-western China from western Kazakhstan was another feasible export route. This 2,850-km line, with a guaranteed capacity of up to 500,000 bpd, is scheduled to be built within 5 years.
Nazarbayev told he had agreed with Iranian President Mohammed Khatami his country would deliver to Iran 2 mm tonnes of crude across the Caspian, and Iran would make the same amount available for Kazakhstan in the Gulf.
He did not say over what period the swap operation would be implemented.
He said other oil export routes might include the one from the Caspian oil town of Atyrau by pipeline to the Russian town of Samara and later to Europe via Russia's Druzhba pipeline.