RUMSFELD INTERVENTION RESCUES $3BN BP PIPELINE
Work on the strategically important scheme, led by BP, was halted in a region of Georgia in July while the government there sought assurances on "security" concerns. The underground "BTC" pipeline will take oil from Baku, in Azerbaijan, through the Georgian capital Tbilisi, to the port of Ceyhan in Turkey, from where it can be shipped to Western markets.
The US government has backed the 1,760km project as a way of accessing oil from important reserves under the Caspian Sea without it having to pass through Iran or Russia. The US has long sought to lessen the world's dependence on oil from the politically unstable Middle East.
The country’s environment ministry halted construction along a 17.6km section of the pipeline that passes through the Borjomi region of Georgia abruptly on 19 July. Work started again on Friday. BP, the single largest investor in the pipeline, is racing to complete the project during the first half of next year. Construction was only resumed after talks between Georgian leaders and high-ranking US officials, including the US Assistant Secretary of State, Elizabeth Jones, who visited Georgia unexpectedly last month.
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