Iran objects to Caspian seabed pipelines

PRESS TV
Sat, 24 Jan 2009 08:53:09 GMT

The pipeline could pose threats to Caspian Sea’s ecosystem.
Iran says it opposes the construction of any underwater pipeline in the
Caspian Sea that will carry oil from Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan.

"The pipeline carrying Kazakh oil to Azerbaijan will be constructed on
the seabed and could pose threats to the ecological system of the
Caspian Sea," Hossein Noqrekar-Shirazi, the deputy head of Iran’s oil
minister in international affairs, said Saturday.

He added that Iran is against any plan that can disturb the ecological
balance of the Caspian Sea, noting that Russia also opposes the
construction of the pipeline.

The transfer of oil produced in the Caspian Sea to global markets is
considered a major obstacle for the littoral states.

In June 2008, Iran announced plans to build a cross-country pipeline to
transfer oil from the Caspian region to the Persian Gulf and world
markets.

Iran is currently conducting feasibility studies for the
1,550-kilometer pipeline, which is expected to carry one million
barrels of oil per day from the northern port of Neka to Jask Port in
southern Iran.

Noqrekar-Shirazi said earlier that Iran had held several rounds of
talks with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia on the construction of the
Neka-Jask pipeline.

An agreement, however, has yet to be reached on the issue.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress