Chevron has said that the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) has approved a $5.4 billion expansion of the Caspian pipeline. The capacity of the 1500km pipeline, carrying crude from western Kazakhstan to a designated terminal in the Black Sea, will increase to 1.4 million b/d from its current capacity of 730,000 b/d.
The expansion of the pipeline is a key step toward the utilization of the Tengiz field, estimated to hold reserves of 6-9 billion barrels of oil. The CPC will carry the Tengiz crude and transport oil from both Kazakhstan and Russia. The project will be implemented in three phases, with capacity increasing gradually from 2012 to 2015. The three largest CPC partners - Transneft, KazMunaiGaz (KMG) and Chevron - will co-manage the project which will involved refurblisment of the existing five pump station, installation of 10 new pumping stations, six new storage tanks and the addition of a third offshore mooring point at the Black Sea terminal.
Speaking about the expansion plans Chevron Chairman and CEO John Watson said, "This important achievement was made possible by the leadership and support of the governments of Russia and Kazakhstan." He also commended the company's partners saying,"Chevron appreciates the valuable contributions of our partners, Transneft and KazMunaiGaz, toward sanctioning of the CPC expansion project."
For more news and expert analysis about the Caspian region, please see Caspian Focus.
© 2010 Menas Associates
No comments:
Post a Comment