96.01. Feasability study for oil & gas pipelines through Caspian Sea 

Central Asia is a region that has an enormous proven potential of oil and gas reserves. These reserves exist on-shore in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan as well as in the off-shore Caspian Sea. However, the pipeline transmission systems in these countries were principally designed to serve the Former Soviet Union.

This Project is concerned with the technical and economic pre-feasibility of a new on-shore and off-shore pipelines system from existing and potential oil and gas producing areas in the above four countries through the Caspian Sea to inlet points at the international transmission network.

Thus, the Project will develop activities related with the evaluation of oil and gas exports potential in the region to the year 2010, the identification of new pipeline routes, and the environmental assessment and project economic analysis of these routes.

Participating Countries

The Participating Countries in this project are 4 of the Newly Independent States (N.I.S), namely Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

In addition, Armenia, Georgia, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine are countries which have a close involvement.

Study Objectives and Main Activities

The project shall meet the following main objectives :

• Evaluation of the potential export volumes of oil & gas from the producing countries in Central Asia to sea terminals or international pipeline systems,

• Identification of new pipelines routes ( including Trans-Caspian sections),

• Estimation of investment costs,

• Technical / economical pre-evaluation of the projects

Consequently the main project activities that will be developed during the work execution are :

• Setting-up a local organisation for data collecting,

• Reviewing oil and as regional balances and export potentials of the four Beneficiary Countries and the neighbouring countries for the period 2000 to 2010,

• Analysing the existing and planned oil and gas export systems to assess their export capacity, the portion already committed and the part not committed that could possibly be utilised for the transportation of part of Trans-Caspian Oil and Gas,

• Assessing the resulting oil and gas quantities to be transferred to western markets through Trans-Caspian pipelines,

• Identifying the new onshore and offshore pipeline corridors required to reach the identified delivery points,

• Performing the preliminary design of the Trans-Caspian pipelines, including onshore and offshore sections, and of the relevant main associated facilities and utilities,

• Analysing environmental management procedures,

• Recommending operation and maintenance procedures and organisations,

• Defining the project investment costs and implementation schedule,

• Comparing the economics of the Trans-Caspian pipelines with alternative modes of transport,

• Evaluating financial arrangements aspects.

Method of Working

The study will be developed following a first phase of collection of relevant information performed by teams deployed in the four Participating Countries and with a substantial involvement of local subcontractors.

After a validation of the data collected, they will be elaborated to produce an Oil and Gas regional balance scenario, focused at 2010, that will be discussed and agreed with the Participating Countries.

This scenario will be the basis for the development of the different study activities that will be the input for the technical and economical Project evaluation.

Planned Outputs

Report detailing data collected,

Report detailing Oil & Gas balance at 2010,

Report covering the examination of existing transmission facilities status and proposals for transmission routes,

Report covering the identification of possible transmission corridors including the offshore sections,

Technical Report covering:-

• Analysis of technical options

• Description of the main project components

• Onshore pipeline preliminary design

• Offshore pipeline preliminary design

• Auxiliary facilities assessment

• Operation and maintenance assessment,

Financial Report covering:-

• Cost estimates and scheduling,

• Economic analysis: comparison between alternative routes.