Turkey: Financing Found for Baku-Ceyhan Oil Pipeline

ANKARA, Turkey -- A sponsor group led by BP has agreed on a plan to finance a pipeline project to carry 1 million barrels per day of Caspian crude oil to Turkey's southern coast, a Turkish energy ministry official said Tuesday.

The pipeline will stretch 1,730 kilometers from the Azeri capital Baku to the Mediterranean Turkish port of Ceyhan through Georgia's capital Tbilisi and has a price tag of about $2.9 billion.

"Between 20 percent and 30 percent of the cost will be financed by the sponsor group companies in cash," said a senior energy ministry official, who declined to be identified.

"The rest will be borrowed from international finance institutions, export credit agencies and commercial banks," he said.

The U.S.-backed pipeline project was masterminded by Turkey in the early 1990s to bypass its already busy Bosphorus straits, the only outlet at present for Russian and any other oil transported via the Black Sea.

The U.S. Eximbank, Japan Eximbank, International Finance Corporation and the European Bank for Restructuring and Development are among those interested in providing financing for the project, the official said.

"Even if there are delays in financial closure, the sponsors are determined to give notice to proceed in June," he said.

The project's current detailed engineering studies will pave the way for the construction, expected to start in June and estimated to last 32 months.

The project is sponsored by a group of international oil majors led by BP. BP holds a 25.41 percent stake in the group.

The sponsor group will conclude negotiations in the coming two or three weeks and will be reluctant to let in companies that do not comply with the agreed financing model, the official said.

"If new companies fail to join, the existing sponsors are willing to raise their shares," he said. "In that respect, TPAO may raise its stake up to 10 percent."

"Black Jade could make so much more money if he/she would simply join the new world order, instead of trying to fight it and expose it to the uninterested public. Black Jade always puts the pieces together...but few really care."

Well, I have suggested that he learn Turkish for that purpose! (Azerbaijani is close)

I care, and disagree with him only about 4% of the time. He's reguided me, maybe I him. I don't think its NWO he's exposing, which in modern parlance would be the forces of big "G" Globalism - specifically financial and industrial markets and machinations (a difference?). He's showing how the local politics works, in the context of the energy business (an old one) and extraction from Central Asia. He's good at opening minds. There are some who believe that Osama and Al Qaeda had something to do with Israel. Nope, but a good recruitment tool for Arabs. 98% of its efforts were to destabilize the Caucasus (Chechnya, Dagestan, Georgia) region and Central Asia, some Kashmiri action to appease Pakistani ISI/Taliban hosts, and of course, maintanance of the homeland of Islamist terrorism, Afghanistan, via jihad against the Tajik/Hazara/Uzbek infidels. Some Balkans activity too.

Not that I don't think Osama isn't a true believer, but his interest in oil politics, especially the price of oil, ordered his interests, along with Saudi funding and Iranian enablement, esp. in the Caucasus. His first post 9/11 video was well conformed to the arab intelligentsia/Western identity lefty discourse - Palestine - check - Iraq - check - troops in Saudi? Well, that's one of his peculiar hangups, not one of the arab world in general. They'd mind if the infidel were in Mecca itself, but his purity issues about Americans, especially women, anywhere in Saudi reflects local male or personal hangups. Destroying tall buildings, he was a construtor, crashing airplanes, his father and brother died in crashes, his mother being a concubine, etc., etc., wish we could resurrect Dr. Freud to analyze this guy.

But his star is fading. His following videos didn't keep on message - started ranting about Australians in East Timor, Kofi Annan, etc. Yes, he bombed Americans, but rarely compared to his other endeavours. Embassies in Africa for whatever reason, then WTC. This was a big mistake for his Saudi benefactors. That's the problem when using fanatics - they sometimes go "too far." However, the attack on the WTC combined with the Massoud assassination, can be seen as a failed preemptive attack on a perceived threat to his Disneyland of terrorism, Afghanistan, by the 6+2 countries, threatening the Taliban with an attack for all their various purposes, mostly grounded in terrorism (India, Russia, America, Central Asia) and attacks on Shi'ites (Iran). Indeed, Osama was appointed Minister of Defense of Afghanistan shortly before 9/11. The "cover story" was all the anti-American stuff, Israel, Kashmir, what have you. Our lovely media doesn't understand it, plus this reality doesn't validate leftist discourse - it detracts attention from the sympathy objects of Palestinians and Iraqis, and might compel consideration that America is not the only country that pursues its interests, and there are other forces causing strife that can't be pinned as a mere response to America or the West. As for the "right", it is less agendized, other generally asserting American interests in the present.

So what we have is a lack of understanding that this war has much to do with oil and gas and Osama's self-preservation. Yes, Osama has a NWO vision of the Ummah, taking back Andalusia, etc. But he has always operated foremostly in concert with the interests of Saudi Arabia and Iran. It is in their interest that oil and gas not be accessed in the Central Asian states, or delayed as long as possible. Direct strife and the semblance of instability deterring investment are the tools, Osama the deliver. Destabilize Central Asia to deter investment. More direct strife in Chechnya and the Caucasus to disrupt oil and gas. Iran was the conduit on this jihad pilgrimage path - still is. (They don't like the Taliban, but Al Qaeda is fine.) Heck, they would attack Dagestan upon every announcement that Russia was turning on the wells there.

Actions speak louder than words, and Osama was operating as a quirky arm of Saudi Arabia, Iran, and OPEC in general. Black Jade will tell you that operations in Bosnia were also so related due to pipeline plans there. I see these as kind of remote, but possible. There are elements of spreading the faith and the like I think are foremost.

Black Jade will tell talk about American activity in Chechnya in cahoots with the Islamists, and Amercian use of jihadis (not necessarily Al Qaeda), but I see the motive here as informed by stupidity (never to be discounted) and cold war Brzezinskian payback sentiments to Russia, and relatively minor, though certainly interesting and should be talked about.

The big game is the Central Asian/Caucasian resources, an old extraction industry, not "Globalism" as I see it. The question to ask is why shouldn't these countries export their oil and trinkets? Why should Saudi be able, but not them? The question usually is premised with a tone of voice that we are doing something bad there. The question is never asked why should OPEC benefit. Indeed, who benefits? OPEC. They know whats up. Go to their web site. You'll see more stories about production plans in the US, Central Asia, and places elsewhere than OPEC countries. They know the game.

What now? Saudi knows the jig is up. It started with 19 Saudi male zombies crashing into our buildings. They pointed the finger everywhere but Riyadh, including trying to Palestinianize the crisis. (Always a good strategy.) Now they try to be the peacemakers in Israel to distract American disfavor- mostly an effort to make them seem the stable source of oil they want to be, discouraging new expense elsewhere - Central Asia. Iran and Iraq are trying to Palestinianize the crisis (always a good strategy) by sending arms, and increasing martyr rewards to families (pushed the only mildly bipolar suicide bombers to action). This is a deflection. Arafat, always an ally of Hussein, probably gave Arafat and cronies a lot of money to increase the terror attacks. Iran is threatening to unleash its Hezbollah proxies on Israel (restrained maybe by fearful Lebanese). I think it may be working to a degree, note the world obsession with Palestine, much to do with video, and the lack of such elsewhere. Such makes news.

Meanwhile, Iran is playing its cards right, trying to cut pipeline deals through Pakistan, Turkey (to Europe), etc., all the while stalling a final division of unsettled rights in the Caspian. Sheltering Al Qaeda for some purpose. I think they will give up the Caucasian destabilization strategy because Turkey is not a foe they want.

A synopsis of what I have learned with Black Jade and others. In sum, the background is not NWO, but interests of OPEC practicing capitalism by other means in a certan area of the world, and our response to it. Israel, as always, is a good distraction from the truth.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.