The prospect of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline being as lucrative as Bush wanted is growing even dimmer. Kazakhstan, the Caspian's richest country in energy wealth, has spurned the U.S.-Backed Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and now Russia, China and Iran are in line for Kazakh oil. -Am
28.04.2004 11:36:00 GMT Astana. (Interfax)- Iran hopes to increase transit of Caspian energy resources to the world market through its territory, Iranian Ambassador to Kazakhstan Murzato Saffori said at the forum Caspian: Politics, Economics, Business in Astana on Wednesday.
"With this aim in mind, the Islamic Republic of Iran has re- equipped its ports on the Caspian Sea and increased the potential to transit hydrocarbons through the Caspian Sea," he said.
He said that the practice of transporting oil from Caspian countries under a SWAP scheme through Iran "meets the region's requirements and is economically profitable and reliable."
Saffori also said that Iran is in favor of increased economic cooperation between the Caspian states and he noted the importance of an idea, proposed by Iran earlier, to set up a regional cooperation organization.
Iran announced at the end of March that it expects oil supplies from Kazakhstan to double under a swap scheme over the next two months. In 2003 oil supplies from Kazakhstan amounted to 50,000 bpd, of which KazMunaiGaz accounted for 30,000 bpd and PetroKazakhstan - 20,000 bpd.
KazMunaiGaz announced earlier that it supplied 1 million tonnes of oil to Kazakhstan under the swap scheme in 2003 and plans to increase this to 2 million tonnes of oil under the same scheme in 2004, while PetroKazakhstan will supply 1 million tonnes.
Kazakhstan supplies oil by tanker through the Caspian to the Iranian port of Neka, and in exchange receives the equivalent at an Iranian port on the Persian Gulf.
In turn, PetroKazakhstan currently supplies oil to Teheran Oil Refinery by rail only, but plans to set up regular oil supplies to the Iran through the Caspian. In exchange the company will receive light Iranian oil in the Persian Gulf.
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