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Turkmen president and US special envoy discuss Caspian pipeline project
Text of report by Turkmen TV on 19th July
[Presenter] President Saparmyrat Turkmenbashy [Niyazov] of Turkmenistan received special advisor to the US president and US secretary of state on energy diplomacy on the Caspian region [Special Advisor to the President and Secretary of State for Caspian Basin Energy Diplomacy], Ambassador John [Stern] Wolf.
After congratulating the Turkmen leader for the great labour that resulted in a bumper grain harvest, the US diplomat expressed his confidence that in the near future Turkmenistan will reach a triumphant success in the energy sector and particularly in transporting its strategic goods to world markets.
The special envoy of the US president and US secretary of state informed the Turkmen president about the organizational work that has been done to advance the Transcaspian gas pipeline project from Turkmenistan to Turkey. He presented a personal message from the US vice-president [Al Gore] to the Turkmen president in which he once again expressed the US administration's support for this pipeline route which has big importance not only for strengthening the independent development of Turkmenistan but also for the extension of mutually beneficial cooperation in the region and across Eurasia. Having acquainted the Turkmen president with the results of his recent meetings with the presidents of states along the Transcaspian gas pipeline route, John Wolf pointed out [the presidents'] rediness to help accelerate the project.
Noting the Transcaspian pipeline project's importance for the Turkmen economy in the 21st century, the Turkmen president discussed in detail with the special advisory of the US president and US secretary of state all measures related to accelerating the process of finding solutions to issues on funding the project and beginning construction. The meeting also pointed out that in the near future two more documents will be signed as [word indistinct] of the participating countries and between Turkmenistan and the leader of the PSG consortium [a partnership between Bechtel and GE Capital].
Immediately after the meeting with Turkmen President Saparmyrat Turkmenbashy [Niyazov], Mr John Stern Wolf answered journalists' questions.
[John Stern Wolf speaking in English with Russian translation] The meeting was about the Transcaspian pipeline and I was delighted to have another opportunity to meet President Niyazov. As you know I was here last month with Ambassador [Richard] Morningstar [Wolf's predecessor].
During this visit I had a chance update President Niyazov on events since my last visit to Ashkhabad [the Turkmen capital]. I had a chance to talk to the president about my visits with presidents [Suleyman] Demirel [of Turkey] and [Eduard] Shevardnadze [of Georgia]. Then I had a chance to discuss with [Niyazov] issues related to the Transcaspian pipeline. I have reiterated and confirmed once again the United States' strong support for the Transcaspian gas pipeline. I told the president that I have heard from all four presidents that will be involved in this project and each of them supports this Transcaspian project and wants its implementation as soon as possible. We discussed the steps that will be needed and what is happening in terms of the project. In this respect, I expressed satisfaction with the talks between PSG and Turkmenistan held last Saturday and Sunday [17th-18th July]. Great progress was made during those talks regarding finding solutions. Both the president and I expressed our determination to reach a final arrangement very quickly. The president agreed. It is crucial to move quickly after those talks to reach an agreement among the four countries.
Source: Turkmen Television first channel, Ashkhabad, in Russian
1330 gmt 19 Jul 99
While algore was on his photo op canoe trip, he was promoting fossil fuels for profit on the other side of the world
TURKMEN PRESIDENT CALLS PIPELINE OPERATOR DEAL CRUCIAL
ASHGABAT, Feb 19 (Interfax) - President Saparmurad Niyazov has said that Friday's agreement between the Turkmen government and U.S. PSG corporation on the appointment of the operator of the Trans-Caspian pipeline project is a crucial event for Turkmenistan. "We are not concealing the fact that behind the event stand the efforts of our friends, primarily U.S. President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore," he said adding that he had discussed the details of the project with the American leadership during his Washington visit in April 1998.
Niyazov said that in giving priority to the project Turkmenistan "is not playing political games" but following purely national interests and economic priorities. He said it would be impermissible for a country controlling 30% of the world's hydrocarbons to remain idle and not advance its infrastructure.
"I have never concealed it that in Soviet times Turkmenistan exported through Russia over 85 billion cubic meters of gas worth $15 billion to $20 billion. Neither Turkmen, nor Russian people are to blame that the profits were distributed unequally, and we were given kopecks which were not enough even to pay wages," Niyazov said. Each country has the right to choose its own political strategy and economic priorities, he said.
He said he received official support from the presidents of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey the territories of which the gas pipeline will cross. He said the 2,000 kilometer pipeline will be built in 28 months; 715 kilometers in Turkmenistan, 300 kilometers along the Caspian sea bed, 408 - in Azerbaijan, 200 - in Georgia and 320 - in Turkey. The estimated cost of the project is a little over $3 billion. Niyazov said that some Caspian countries were concerned about possible environmental problems arising from the pipeline and refrained from involvement in the project. In response, an international environmental examination of the project will be conducted to which experts from all Caspian countries are expected to be invited. The agreement was approved by Richard Morningstar, Clinton's energy advisor for the Caspian region, who said the project will give Turkmenistan a chance to use its energy potential to its utmost benefit and become integrated into the global as well as regional energy system.
CHEVRON SIGNS ACCORD WITH AZERBAIJAN TO HUNT FOR OIL IN CASPIAN SEA
WASHINGTON, Aug. 1, 1997 -- Vice President of the United States Al Gore and Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev presided over ceremonies here today where representatives of Chevron and the Republic of Azerbaijan signed documents paving the way for Chevron's first major oil venture in Azerbaijan.
Richard Matzke, president of Chevron Overseas Petroleum and a director of Chevron Corp., and Natik Aliyev, president of the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), signed an agreement to explore Azerbaijan's Absheron Offshore Block, a deep-water geologic structure in the southern Caspian Sea.
"We are very pleased to be the company chosen to explore this highly prospective area of the Caspian Sea, and honored to become a partner in Azerbaijan's reemergence as a significant player in the international oil industry," said Matzke. "Chevron is eager to explore Absheron and to combine our technological experience with that of SOCAR to determine the potential of this challenging deep-water prospect," Matzke added.
Under terms of the agreement, Chevron will serve as operator in exploring the Absheron structure, first identified in 1960 through seismic surveys. Absheron, formerly known as the Tagiyev Block, lies in close proximity -- 40 kilometers southwest -- of Azerbaijan's giant Guneshli-Azeri-Chirag multi-oil field complex, and covers an area of approximately 160 square miles (400 square kilometers). Water depths vary from 800 feet to 2,100 feet (250 to 650 meters). Chevron will hold a 30 percent interest in the Absheron block.
Chevron will conduct a 3-D seismic program to augment data collected in the earlier surveys. Exploratory drilling is anticipated to begin in late 1999.
While exploration of the Absheron prospect represents Chevron's first major oil venture in Azerbaijan, the company has had a presence in the northern Caspian region through Tengizchevroil, the joint venture company which operates the Tengiz oil field in Kazakhstan. Chevron holds a 45 percent interest in Tengizchevroil, which currently ships more than 25,000 barrels per day (1.2 million tonnes per year) of crude oil through Azerbaijan. The oil, brought onshore at Baku, is then transported by pipeline and rail through Azerbaijan to the Georgian port of Batumi, where it is exported to world markets.
Notes to Editors:
Azerbaijan is one of the oldest oil-producing regions in the world, experiencing its oil boom in the
early 1900s. Production peaked at about 500,000 barrels a day in the mid 1940s, and fell
significantly in the years following World War II. Some forty years later (1992), Azerbaijan's
production stood at about 220,000 barrels a day. Industry estimates indicate that development of
new fields in the Caspian Sea within the next 10 to 15 years could boost Azerbaijan's crude oil
production to levels in excess of its mid-1940s all-time highs.
Chevron press release from 1997
Wasn't Armand Hammer in the Baku oil business at one time?
EXXON/SOCAR SIGN AGREEMENT ON CASPIAN SEA EXPLORATION BLOCK
IRVING, TX, August 1 -- Exxon Corporation announced today that its affiliate Exxon Exploration and Production Azerbaijan Limited has signed an agreement with the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) that defines exploration, development and production sharing terms for the Naxcivan prospective structure, an offshore exploration block in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea.
Attending the signing ceremony in Washington were Azerbaijan President Heydar Aliyev, U.S. Vice President Al Gore, and Exxon Exploration and Production Azerbaijan Limited President Terry Koonce.
Koonce said, "It is Exxon's desire to be a long-term, significant participant with the Republic in the exploration and development of hydrocarbon resources in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea. We are pleased to be able to sign this agreement during President Aliyev's trip to the United States."
The Naxcivan prospective structure, formerly referred to as D-3, is an exploration block located about 60 miles (100 kilometers) south of Baku and 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of the existing Bulla-Deniz gas condensate field, which had original gas reserves of about three trillion cubic feet (85 billion cubic meters).
The block is located in water depths ranging from about 300 feet (100 meters) to 1,600 feet (500 meters) and covers about 100 square miles (280 square kilometers). It is one of two blocks selected by Exxon after completing joint technical studies with SOCAR. Negotiations on an exploration, development and production sharing agreement for a deeper water block, D-9/D-38, are ongoing.
"Under this agreement, both SOCAR and Exxon will retain a 50 percent interest, and Exxon will serve as operator," Koonce said. "We hope to conclude negotiations on the deeper water exploration block, D-9/D-38, later this year. While the structures on these blocks are believed to be very attractive prospects, drilling will be required to confirm the presence of any hydrocarbons. We look forward to beginning exploration activities in the near future."
Koonce emphasized Exxon's commitment to Azerbaijan. "Exploration and development activities in this area will provide long-term mutual economic and employment benefits to the Azerbaijan Republic and Exxon. We will continue to pursue involvement in other attractive oil and gas projects with SOCAR and the Azerbaijan Republic," he said.
A separate Exxon affiliate, Exxon Azerbaijan Limited, owns an 8 percent interest in the joint development and production sharing agreement covering the estimated five billion barrel Azeri, Ciraq and deep water Gunashli fields complex, sometimes referred to as the "Megastructure," in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea. The Megastructure is being operated by the Azerbaijan International Operating Company (AIOC), a company owned by a consortium of 11 companies.
As affiliates of one of the world's largest corporations, the Exxon affiliates in Azerbaijan have access to state-of-the-art technology and experience in all aspects of the petroleum industry, including particular expertise in deep water operations. Exxon is currently exploring in about 30 countries around the world.
Yepper depper, Gore lied about the dangers of the auto!
Gore lied about the dangers of the auto
What algore knows about emissions or the environment would fill about half a paragraph, unless we consider the profits from Occidental Petroleum, Hooker Chemical, and Island Creek Coal Co. that purchased his DC penthouse upbringing.
another bump
Thanks for the update. It's going to take the Imperial Legions to prop up these farflung enterprises - any news on legions in Azeri and environs?
"Karabakh: NATO, West Pipeline = After the shooting on Azerbaijan-Karabakh border last week, the Azerbaijan military officials said they would like NATO to be involved in the area to resolve the conflict. No reaction from NATO so far. The main oil exporting Baku-Supsa (West) pipeline goes through Azerbaijan just 50 km away from the Karabakh border."
From a 22 June article here
If 50 km is an important number, it would be interesting to see how many Balkan pipelines would be 50 km or less from Yugoslav sovereign territory.
Great post Hamiltonian!
I guess algore is planning on lots of limo rides in the future...he needs plenty of extra fuel for those big Lincolns.
Of course, his automobile doesn't harm anyone...
Of course, his automobile doesn't harm anyone
Until he causes a traffic jam on the Beltway during summer ozone season- for a photo op. Then He'll blame it on the conservatives.
Of course getting PG&E to release the extra billions of gallons of water in New England was a real feat. During what the enabling lemmings in the press call the drought of the century. For those of us with intact memory, the 1988 drought was worse.
FYI...hope you can extract some meaningful info here...hope none are duplicates of your vast compendium...
Russia: U.S. Wants Multiple Pipelines For Caspian Oil
Radio Free Europe., by Robert Lyle (March 11, 1998
Salon, Christopher Hitchins Sept 27, 1997
http://www.security-policy.org/papers/1995/95-D71.html
Publications of the Center for Security Policy
No. 95-D 71, Oct,2, 1995
LUKARCO, a different kind of joint venture
Energy, Divestment, mergers, acquisitions
WWS Case Study 1/99;Pipeline Diplomacy: The Clinton Administration's Fight for Baku-Ceyhan
by Jofi Joseph (Princeton University)
NPR Policy Activities
April 20-21, 1999, Washington, D.C. (United States Institute of Peace)
Energy, Weapons Proliferation, and Conflict in Central Asia and the Caucasus
The Eastern Economist (Ukraine)
.
Russian Foreign Policy Internet Resources
Hokkaido University, Slavic Research Center
Wow! That Princeton link was outstanding. Here's an excerpt:
"The Origins and Contours of American Policy
Following the breakup of the USSR and the emergence of newly independent states in the Caspian Sea region, the Bush administration moved quickly to establish diplomatic relations with Azerbaijan and open a new embassy in Baku, earning praise and goodwill from the original Elchibey government. Nevertheless, outside of regional specialists at the National Security Council and in the State Department, the issue of Caspian Sea pipelines barely registered on the radar screens of official Washington. However, American oil companies, led by Don Stacy, director of Eurasian operations for the U.S. company Amoco, initiated an intense advocacy campaign through a newly created lobbying arm, the Foreign Oil Companies Group. Designed foremost as an education campaign, the oil representatives stressed to members of Congress and others in Washington the potential value of Azerbaijan’s oil deposits and its strategic significance. However, high-ranking national security officials in the Clinton administration had already recognized legitimate geopolitical reasons for an aggressive U.S. presence in the Caspian and began to take action at the beginning of 1995.
The Deputies Committee, a group consisting of high-level department and agency officials and chaired by then Deputy NSC Advisor Sandy Berger, met during the spring and issued policy guidance recognizing the importance of the Caspian oil reserves and the need for greater U.S. attention to this issue. The Deputies Committee agreed on the policy objective of "multiple pipelines" (discussed below) and called for the convening of an interagency group to be directed by Berger, which would manage the implementation of U.S. policy on the Caspian Sea."
August 9, 1999
Itar - Tass via NewsEdge Corporation : ASHKHABAD, August 7 (Itar-Tass) - The U.S. Ex-Im Bank and the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation will take an active part in the creation of a mechanism for financing the Trans- Caspian gas pipeline project, a high-ranking official said.
The announcement was made by the special adviser to the U.S. president for energy diplomacy, John Wolf, after his meeting with Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov on Friday.
Wolf arrived in Turkmenia on Thursday to take part in the signing of three documents designed to implement and accelerate the project.
He noted that a preliminary agreement between the Turkmen government and the U.S. company PSJ International signed on Friday is the next step in the implementation of an earlier deal that named this company as a sponsor and founder of a consortium to build and operate the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline and the memorandum of understanding. Both documents were signed in Ashkhabad on February of this year.
The new agreement legally formalised the positions of the two sides with regard to their obligations assumed under the project and determined the parameters of Turkmenia's participation in its implementation.
TURKMEN GAS PIPELINE AGREEMENTS SIGNED...
Representatives of Shell and PSG signed three agreements in Ashgabat on 5 August on the extraction of Turkmen natural gas and its export via the planned Trans-Caspian gas pipeline, Interfax reported. Shell and PSG signed a letter of intent on the implementation of that project, under which Shell undertook to raise 50 percent of construction costs. Shell also signed an "agreement of strategic alliance" with the Turkmen government on exploring and developing gas deposits from which gas can be exported via the planned pipeline. And PSG signed a preliminary agreement with the Turkmen government on the commercial and legal basis for operating the pipeline.
What happened to the guy that gave Clinton $300,000. for his campaign? He was wanting a favor in this part of the world. Looks like he got it.
The interesting thing is that the "administration" became focused on the Caspian situation in 1995. About that time undersecretaries in Energy were disappearing from O'leary trade missions to detour through Kazakhstan (one came from a Houston law firm that now has a Kazakhstan office, another is now part of the Azerbaijan International Oil Company).
Then Tamraz, a slick career frontman for someone, enters the picture, in the spring of 1996. Ron Brown hits a mountain in Croatia a week or so later.
The Trans-Caspian Partners (Bechtel / GE Capital/ Shell) pipeline will follow the much of the Baku Ceyhan route. The key is to extend it to hard currency markets in Europe, since the market growth in Turkey is speculative, and based on power projects being developed by......Bechtel, Shell, and GE Capital. Power doesn't get paid for in Turkey with hard currency. Hard currency finance generally requires hard currency debt service.
The extension to Europe will cross to the Balkans and go through Serbia toward the EU grid in Austria.
Bump for the Kyoto exemptions that will be given to oil companies harvesting the semi-existent Caspian wealth.
I didn't realize Tamraz's appearance was such a short time before Ron Brown's downing. Did Tamraz meet Brown?
Interestingly, Tamraz surfaced at the WH about two weeks before the Brown plane kissed the mountain.
"M2 PRESSWIRE via NewsEdge Corporation : * Press statement by James P. Rubin, Spokesman
We welcome the signing of three significant agreements today on the Trans- Caspian Gas Pipeline in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. These agreements establish a partnership between the Government of Turkmenistan and the pipeline's developers, PSG and Royal Dutch Shell. They also lay the commercial and legal foundation for the pipeline within Turkmenistan, and open the way for the next round of discussions on this project, which will include the Governments of Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, as well as PSG and Shell.
In addition, these agreements mark an important step forward in the U.S. Government's efforts to develop the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline as a cornerstone of the East-West energy transit corridor. This corridor will foster regional cooperation among the new states of Central Asia and the Caucasus, bolster their independence and prosperity, strengthen their integration with Europe via Turkey, enhance the energy security of the United States and our allies, and create business opportunities for companies from the U.S. and other countries."
Hey, Gore! What about the endangered Albanian salamander? What do you think that pipeline will do to it? What about the Chechneyan Lousewort, or the Romanian bat?
bttt
Y'all Remember Roger?
"Campaign Finance Key Player: Roger Tamraz
This profile was compiled from Washington Post and washingtonpost.com staff reports.
From The Post: • Tamraz Defends Political Gifts for Clinton Access, Sept. 19, 1997
Roger Tamraz is an Egyptian-American oil financier wanted in Lebanon on embezzlement charges. Tamraz and his company contributed about $300,000 to Democrats in 1995 and 1996. And despite objections by a National Security Council staff person, he received several White House invitations and attended a coffee with President Clinton.
Tamraz's contacts with White House and other government officials are the subject of several investigations. A federal grand jury is seeking to determine if anyone tried to bribe or pressure Clinton administration officials into supporting Tamraz and his proposal to build a $2.5 billion oil pipeline from the Caspian Sea, through parts of the former Soviet Union and Turkey, to the Mediterranean and Western markets.
After Tamraz talked to Clinton about his plan, senior White House aide Thomas F. "Mack" McLarty contacted an Energy Department official, who set in motion an effort to promote the Tamraz proposal within the government. McLarty said he never mentioned Tamraz's political contributions in his discussions with Energy Department officials.
The CIA is also investigating whether one of its officers arranged for a favorable intelligence report on Tamraz to be sent to the White House, allegedly in response to a request from former Democratic National Committee chairman Donald Fowler, so that Tamraz could attend events with President Clinton.
Tamraz has said he did nothing improper and that he has been cooperating with the inquiries.
Testifying before the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, Tamraz gave a colorful and unapologetic account of how money buys high-level political access in Washington and told the panel he would consider giving more money in the future to make sure he gained entree to the inner circles of government.
Asked by Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) whether he thought he got his "money's worth" for the $300,000 he gave, Tamraz replied, "I think next time I'll give $600,000."
In September, French authorities secretly charged him with fraud for diverting as much as $47 million from a French bank he controlled, according to court documents. He is to go on trial this year."
Last updated March 4, 1998
© Copyright 1998 The Washington Post Company
The backers of this gas pipeline have enough in the cash drawer to buy Tamraz lock, stock, and barrel. And getting the Tamraz oil pipeline done will drop the capital cost of the gas pipeline, since they use the same route through Turkey.
IMO Tamraz is a professional bagman.
A very good series of posts.
FYI
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.
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