ECONOMY
NEGOTIATIONS CONCERNING KAZAKHSTAN JOINING THE BTC WILL BE COMPLETED BY THE PRESENT YEAR
According to head of SOCAR, most of the clauses in the variants correspond and on its basis one agreement will be set up.
As the SOCAR head noted, included in the issues being discussed the corresponding legislation of Kazakhstani intergovernmental agreement for favourable conditions for the transportation of Kazakhstani crude along the BTC, and access of the company to the shipment of oil and corresponding infrastructure of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.
"We are trying to create the BTC route a priority for Kazakhstani oil producers," stressed N. Aliyev. For that there is the need to solve a number of issues concerning taxation, obligations of the sides, procedures for the document to come into force. For example, in Azerbaijan the intergovernmental agreement was ratified by parliament and in Kazakhstan such documents are approved by the government. Investors of the BTC project, noted the SOCAR boss, want to have confirmation of the agreement in parliament to provide a stable guarantee.
Natig Aliyev also noted a huge acceptability of Azerbaijani variant of the agreement, since it was based on those intergovernmental documents on which the construction of pipeline is based on.The Head of SOCAR also said that the current round of negotiations will include a wide range of experts from SOCAR, KazMunaiGas, BTC Co (operator for the construction and exploitation of the BTC), and member-companies of the project for the development of oil deposits in Kazakhstan (ENI, Total, ConocoPhilips and Inpex). In future a more smaller work group will be created that will focus on the negotiation process. According to Mr Aliyev, this group will meet in September-October 2003 and on high level have another round of negotiations by the end of October. By the end of the year, we hope to complete the preparation of the agreement and submit is for the government of the two countries for signing."
The next stage of negotiations between the two countries will be the preparation of the agreement of the transit country members with investors (transit agreements). Mr Aliyev noted that the preparation of the agreement will be significantly easier since it will be based on conditions of intergovernmental agreement. The transit agreement, according to Mr Aliyev, may also attracted apart from these four earlier mentioned companies of the BTC Co and others. It is these companies that will invest funds in the setting up of infrastructure (new terminals, port, etc) for the Aktau-Baku route, along which Kazakhstani oil will be transported. This calls for a new terminal in Azerbaijan to pump the Kazakhstani oil along the BTC. According to Mr Aliyev, after this a commercial agreement will be signed between the BTC Co and Kazakhstani oil companies to transport Kazakhstan oil.
Mr Aliyev stressed that tariffs for Kazakhstani oil shippers will be higher than for investors of the BTC project.
He also went onto say that transportation of oil from the eastern shores of the Caspian along the BTC could start in 2007-2010. From the maximal carrying capacity of the pipeline of 1 million barrels per day, the starting volume of Kazakhstani oil along the BTC will be 150 thousand barrels per day, taking into account 15% of the share that companies in the BTC Co working in Kazakhstan (ENI, ConocoPhilipps, INPEX, Total). He said that until these companies are able to put up their volumes, their volumes will be used by other companies.