ALMATY, Jan 24 (AFP) - US oil giant ChevronTexaco sought to dispel speculation Monday that oil exports from Kazakshtan's TengizChevroil (TCO) field would in future be switched from a Moscow-backed pipeline through southern Russia to a US-backed alternative through the Caucasus.
The Moscow-backed Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) through Russia to the Black Sea remains the priority pipeline for exports from the huge TengizChevroil field, said Guy Hollingsworth, ChevronTexaco's Eurasia managing director.
However as production at TengizChevroil is set to outstrip CPC's expansion timetable, additional routes are being examined including the US-backed Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline that is being built through Azerbaijan and Georgia to Turkey's Mediterranean coast, Hollingsworth said.
"ChevronTexaco is committed to the CPC Pipeline as our export route of first choice -- expanding the CPC Pipeline to its full potential capacity for exporting TCO production is a key objective of ChevronTexaco," Hollingsworth said in a written statement.
However, the statement continued, "CPC's expanded export capacity will only become available by the end of 2007 -- to bridge the period between TCO expanded production and CPC Pipeline expanded capacity, TCO is reviewing a variety of potential export corridors, including BTC."
Washington policymakers have heavily backed the BP-led BTC pipeline in the hope of limiting Moscow's ability to dictate to Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic headed by authoritarian President Nursultan Nazarbayev that is touted as a future global player in the oil industry.
ChevronTexaco, as well as owning 50 percent of TengizChevroil, is the largest private investor in CPC, with a 15 percent stake.
The TengizChevroil field is currently producing around 13 million tonnes of oil annually and is set to expand with the introduction of new technology for reinjecting sour gas. The field contains between six billion and nine billion barrels of recoverable oil, ChevronTexaco has said.
01/24/2005 14:41 GMT - AFP