Eric Watkins
Senior Correspondent
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 4 -- Kazakhstan will sign an agreement on joining the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline project in October, according to Energy Minister Vladimir Shkolnik.
Shkolnik said a pipeline section from the Kazakh port of Aktau to the BTC pipeline's origin at Baku would work as an independent part of the larger line.
Kazakhstan will construct a terminal about 76 km south of Aktau at Kuryk. Pipelines connecting Kuryk with the Aktau extension also will be constructed, Shkolnik said.
Line fill of the 1,100-mile pipeline began in June (OGJ, June 27, 2005, p. 61).
Contact Eric Watkins at [email protected].