AI
Thursday, October 21, 2004 10:50:08 AM
Russia Kills Trans-Balkan Oil Pipeline
Is the killing of the Trans-Balkan Oil Pipeline an indication Russia expects another conflict in the Balkans and would rather reroute the pipeline?
#msg-3667050
Background:
Putin is backing Bush even though Putin is cognizant of Bush’s involvement in the Beslan massacre. Putin apparently has a greater fear of Kerry’s advisor, Holbrooke, to the extent that his dread overrides Bush’s crimes against humanity.
#msg-4307815
However, despite its overtures toward China and India, the Kremlin has been careful to avoid making the impression that it is forming an anti-US coalition, indicating that Russia could hardly afford anything that could be interpreted as a consistent affront to Washington.
The strategic partnership with China may be viewed by Russia as a way to counter US pressure, a sort of contingency plan in the event of a Kerry victory. Talk of a "strategic triangle", or troika, together with China and India, could also serve this purpose.
Moreover, concerns have been voiced in Moscow that relations with the US could decline under the Democrats. Russian media have speculated that Kerry, if elected next month, might put extra pressure on Moscow - and even include Russia in a new "axis of evil", along with Iran and North Korea.
Indeed, Democrats have voiced stronger criticism of Russia. "We're concerned that Putin is getting a blank check," said Richard C Holbrooke, a former US ambassador to the United Nations who is advising Kerry. "We need good relations with Russia, but we ought to have some standards here," he said.
Richard Holbrooke's makes crystal clear his dislike of Serbs and sympathies for Muslims.
#msg-3667050
-Am
Russia Kills Trans-Balkan Oil Pipeline
Point of View: 20 October 2004, Wednesday.
The Russia Journal
By John Helmer
Russia's prime minister and a senior Russian oil executive, on a visit this week to Bulgaria, appeared to have killed the proposed new trans-Balkan oil pipeline, linking the Black Sea with the Mediterranean port of Alexandrupoulis, while avoiding the Turkish straits.
Although Russian officials claimed today {Wednesday} in Moscow that no final decision has been taken, nor will be taken until a meeting of project experts takes place in Athens on November 4-5, the sentiment in Moscow currently favours an alternative route, also bypassing the Bosphorus Straits, but on Turkish, not Greek or Bulgarian territory.
The 320-km pipeline project from Burgas has been in planning for almost a decade, involving the governments and commercial companies from Bulgaria, Greece, and Russia, plus bank support from the European Union.
In Sofia yesterday {Tuesday}, Prime Minister Fradkov reportedly said "we need a complex analysis of this project's expedience," adding that "the distribution of the three countries' shares [in the venture] should justly reflect Russian interests."
His remark flew in the face of five-year old technical and economic feasibility studies, which had established the project's viability. He also appeared to be undoing agreements of the three governments between 1999 and 2002 to establish equal one-third shares for each country's designated participants.
Today {Wednesday}, Vagit Alekperov, head of LUKoil, Russia's largest oil exporter, claimed the project is unprofitable, and that unless the governments of Bulgaria and Greece solve tax and land price issues, the Russians will go no further.
In Moscow, LUKoil spokesman Mikhail Mikhailov said ""it is the current position of the compan y not to participate in the project." It is not clear why LUKoil, which was not one of the designated Russian oil companies in the original project papers, should be in a position to veto it now.
Two years ago, LUKoil's management of the Neftokhim Burgas petroleum refinery came under sharp attack from minority investors in the plant, who accused LUKoil of over-charging the refinery for its crude oil supplies, and under-paying for the refinery's processing, in order to strip value from the Bulgarian company.
"Lukoil's transfer pricing, value destruction, and lack of fair and transparent practices with respect to minority shareholders set an extremely damaging precedent," claimed one of a group of critical investors at the time.
The group, which together held about 18% of the refinery's shares, included Vostok Nafta Investment Ltd., a Stockholm-listed investment company; and portfolio funds managed by Fintech, Firebird, Framlington, and Emergent Fund Management. The investors issued a public warning to the Greek government against accepting a bid from LUKoil to take control of Hellenic Petroleum, which was then being offered for privatization.
Rosneft, the state-owned oil producer, which has been expanding its deliveries to Tuapse, across the Black Sea from Burgas, sounded a more positive note on the trans-Balkan pipeline. According to spokesman Dmitry Panteleev, "we are waiting now for the November commission decision to come. We are interested in the project."
Transneft spokesman Sergei Grigoriev was non-committal. "I've heard different things", he said. "Russia does not oppose the project, and instead has agreed on the November expert commission to consider all parties' interests. The results will be available then. Also, I don't know if our specialists will be involved."
In a report on Fradkov's meetings in Bulgaria, Izvestia reported Industry and Energy Minister Victor Khristenko as saying that Moscow wants to arrange a land-route for oil to bypass the Bosphorus, but will not build more than one pipeline to do this. "
At the first stage." Khristenko was reported as saying, "we shall lay only one route around the Bosphorus." He hinted that the November meeting in Athens would decide whether the trans-Balkan route would qualify.
However, Alekperov, who is more influential than either the energy minister or the prime minister, is signaling that this decision has already been made.
The trans-Balkan pipeline has been budgeted to cost USD 668 M, according to the five-year old studies. This is one-tenth the cost of a competing pipeline across Turkish territory to Ceyhan, on the Mediterranean, which has been promoted by the US government.
It also cheaper than a proposal, which Transneft, released in February. According to Transneft's CEO Semyon Vainshtok, his company wants to construct a 193-km pipeline on the territory of Turkey, with the local contractor Anadolu.
The potential starting point for this Bosphorus bypass route could be Kiyikei on the Black Sea, and the end-point at an offloading terminal at Ibrikhaba, on the Aegean Sea. The project would cost about USD 900 M, Transneft claims, with capacity estimated in the range of 50-60 million tonnes per year. This is roughly equal to the volume of current Russian shipments by tanker through the Turkish straits.
When Vainshtok announced Transneft's Turkish plan, two Russian oil companies, Tatneft and TNK-BP, indicated their willingness to guarantee oil supplies for the line.
The Burgas-Alexandroppoulos pipeline has been designed to a capacity of about 40 million tonnes per annum, loaded on tankers of up to 150,000 deadweight.
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=40565
Is the killing of the Trans-Balkan Oil Pipeline an indication Russia expects another conflict in the Balkans and would rather reroute the pipeline?
#msg-3667050
Background:
Putin is backing Bush even though Putin is cognizant of Bush’s involvement in the Beslan massacre. Putin apparently has a greater fear of Kerry’s advisor, Holbrooke, to the extent that his dread overrides Bush’s crimes against humanity.
#msg-4307815
However, despite its overtures toward China and India, the Kremlin has been careful to avoid making the impression that it is forming an anti-US coalition, indicating that Russia could hardly afford anything that could be interpreted as a consistent affront to Washington.
The strategic partnership with China may be viewed by Russia as a way to counter US pressure, a sort of contingency plan in the event of a Kerry victory. Talk of a "strategic triangle", or troika, together with China and India, could also serve this purpose.
Moreover, concerns have been voiced in Moscow that relations with the US could decline under the Democrats. Russian media have speculated that Kerry, if elected next month, might put extra pressure on Moscow - and even include Russia in a new "axis of evil", along with Iran and North Korea.
Indeed, Democrats have voiced stronger criticism of Russia. "We're concerned that Putin is getting a blank check," said Richard C Holbrooke, a former US ambassador to the United Nations who is advising Kerry. "We need good relations with Russia, but we ought to have some standards here," he said.
Richard Holbrooke's makes crystal clear his dislike of Serbs and sympathies for Muslims.
#msg-3667050
-Am
Russia Kills Trans-Balkan Oil Pipeline
Point of View: 20 October 2004, Wednesday.
The Russia Journal
By John Helmer
Russia's prime minister and a senior Russian oil executive, on a visit this week to Bulgaria, appeared to have killed the proposed new trans-Balkan oil pipeline, linking the Black Sea with the Mediterranean port of Alexandrupoulis, while avoiding the Turkish straits.
Although Russian officials claimed today {Wednesday} in Moscow that no final decision has been taken, nor will be taken until a meeting of project experts takes place in Athens on November 4-5, the sentiment in Moscow currently favours an alternative route, also bypassing the Bosphorus Straits, but on Turkish, not Greek or Bulgarian territory.
The 320-km pipeline project from Burgas has been in planning for almost a decade, involving the governments and commercial companies from Bulgaria, Greece, and Russia, plus bank support from the European Union.
In Sofia yesterday {Tuesday}, Prime Minister Fradkov reportedly said "we need a complex analysis of this project's expedience," adding that "the distribution of the three countries' shares [in the venture] should justly reflect Russian interests."
His remark flew in the face of five-year old technical and economic feasibility studies, which had established the project's viability. He also appeared to be undoing agreements of the three governments between 1999 and 2002 to establish equal one-third shares for each country's designated participants.
Today {Wednesday}, Vagit Alekperov, head of LUKoil, Russia's largest oil exporter, claimed the project is unprofitable, and that unless the governments of Bulgaria and Greece solve tax and land price issues, the Russians will go no further.
In Moscow, LUKoil spokesman Mikhail Mikhailov said ""it is the current position of the compan y not to participate in the project." It is not clear why LUKoil, which was not one of the designated Russian oil companies in the original project papers, should be in a position to veto it now.
Two years ago, LUKoil's management of the Neftokhim Burgas petroleum refinery came under sharp attack from minority investors in the plant, who accused LUKoil of over-charging the refinery for its crude oil supplies, and under-paying for the refinery's processing, in order to strip value from the Bulgarian company.
"Lukoil's transfer pricing, value destruction, and lack of fair and transparent practices with respect to minority shareholders set an extremely damaging precedent," claimed one of a group of critical investors at the time.
The group, which together held about 18% of the refinery's shares, included Vostok Nafta Investment Ltd., a Stockholm-listed investment company; and portfolio funds managed by Fintech, Firebird, Framlington, and Emergent Fund Management. The investors issued a public warning to the Greek government against accepting a bid from LUKoil to take control of Hellenic Petroleum, which was then being offered for privatization.
Rosneft, the state-owned oil producer, which has been expanding its deliveries to Tuapse, across the Black Sea from Burgas, sounded a more positive note on the trans-Balkan pipeline. According to spokesman Dmitry Panteleev, "we are waiting now for the November commission decision to come. We are interested in the project."
Transneft spokesman Sergei Grigoriev was non-committal. "I've heard different things", he said. "Russia does not oppose the project, and instead has agreed on the November expert commission to consider all parties' interests. The results will be available then. Also, I don't know if our specialists will be involved."
In a report on Fradkov's meetings in Bulgaria, Izvestia reported Industry and Energy Minister Victor Khristenko as saying that Moscow wants to arrange a land-route for oil to bypass the Bosphorus, but will not build more than one pipeline to do this. "
At the first stage." Khristenko was reported as saying, "we shall lay only one route around the Bosphorus." He hinted that the November meeting in Athens would decide whether the trans-Balkan route would qualify.
However, Alekperov, who is more influential than either the energy minister or the prime minister, is signaling that this decision has already been made.
The trans-Balkan pipeline has been budgeted to cost USD 668 M, according to the five-year old studies. This is one-tenth the cost of a competing pipeline across Turkish territory to Ceyhan, on the Mediterranean, which has been promoted by the US government.
It also cheaper than a proposal, which Transneft, released in February. According to Transneft's CEO Semyon Vainshtok, his company wants to construct a 193-km pipeline on the territory of Turkey, with the local contractor Anadolu.
The potential starting point for this Bosphorus bypass route could be Kiyikei on the Black Sea, and the end-point at an offloading terminal at Ibrikhaba, on the Aegean Sea. The project would cost about USD 900 M, Transneft claims, with capacity estimated in the range of 50-60 million tonnes per year. This is roughly equal to the volume of current Russian shipments by tanker through the Turkish straits.
When Vainshtok announced Transneft's Turkish plan, two Russian oil companies, Tatneft and TNK-BP, indicated their willingness to guarantee oil supplies for the line.
The Burgas-Alexandroppoulos pipeline has been designed to a capacity of about 40 million tonnes per annum, loaded on tankers of up to 150,000 deadweight.
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=40565
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