WASHINGTON - The United States on Wednesday hailed the opening of a new four billion dollar pipeline that will take Caspian region oil to western markets as a "historic project" that will also strengthen the independence of Azerbaijan and Georgia.
The presidents of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Kazakhstan joined other top officials in the Azerbaijan capital for the opening of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline.
US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said: "The United States has long supported this historic project as a centerpiece of the East-West Energy Corridor.
"The four billion dollar, 1,000 mile (1,600 kilometer) long BTC pipeline will bring crude oil -- initially one million barrels a day -- from Azerbaijan's southern Caspian offshore fields through Georgia to Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan for shipment to world markets.
"The BTC pipeline will reinforce the sovereignty and prosperity of Azerbaijan and Georgia. BTC will further integrate Azerbaijan and Georgia into the international free market economy and promote their development, while advancing our shared goal of developing multiple oil and gas export routes," added Boucher.
"The BTC pipeline will also enhance Turkey's emerging role as an energy transportation hub and help reduce oil tanker traffic congestion in the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits.
"The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline is a major success for the US goal of enhancing and diversifying global energy supplies," said Boucher.
US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman read a letter from US President George W. Bush at the opening ceremony in which the American leader hailed the project as a "monumental achievment".
05/25/2005 18:21 GMT