Caspian Pipeline Consortium
Encyclopedia
The Caspian Pipeline Consortium is a consortium and a pipeline to transport Caspian oil from Tengiz field
to the Novorossiysk
-2 Marine Terminal on Russia
's Black Sea
coast. It is also a major export route for oil from the Kashagan
and Karachaganak
fields. , the CPC pipeline is the only oil export pipeline in Russian territory not wholly owned by Transneft
.
was asked to join, however talks broke down due to the high financial burden Chevron would have to take on relative to equity in the pipeline. Progress on the project stalled for several years until 1996 when a restructure included eight production companies in the project. Among the companies were Chevron, Mobil
, LUKoil
, Royal Dutch Shell
and Rosneft
. BP
joined the consortium in 2003. Shares were divided fifty-fifty between the three states and the eight companies. Production companies financed the construction cost of US$2.67 billion, while the Russian Federation contributed unused pipeline assets worth US$293 million. First oil was loaded onto a tanker at the Novorossiysk Marine Terminal on 13 October 2001 and the first stage of the pipeline was officially inaugurated on 27 November 2001. Regular operations started in April 2003.
In April 2007, the Russian government transferred its shares to the Russian state-owned oil pipeline company Transneft
. In October 2008, the Government of Oman sold its 7%-stake to Transneft at a price of $700million and withdrew from the project. On 17 December 2008, a memorandum on expanding the pipeline was signed.
and the tank farm consists of four steel storage tanks of 100000 cubic metres (3,531,466.6 cu ft) each. Pipeline throughflow started at 350000 oilbbl/d and has since increased to 700000 oilbbl/d.
An envisaged second stage will add 10 pumping stations for a total of 15. The number of tanks will increase to ten and one more mooring will be constructed. Capacity will increase to 1.3 Moilbbl/d. The second stage has been estimated to cost around US$2 billion and will be completed by 2012.
The shareholders of the consortium are:
Tengiz Field shareholders control 55.75% of the Consortium, Kasaghan shareholders control 33.1%.
In December 2009, BP sold its stake in LukArco to Lukoil for $1.6 billion.
Tengiz Field
Tengiz field is an oil and gas field located in northwestern Kazakhstan's low-lying wetlands along the northeast shores of the Caspian Sea...
to the Novorossiysk
Novorossiysk
Novorossiysk is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is the country's main port on the Black Sea and the leading Russian port for importing grain. It is one of the few cities honored with the title of the Hero City. Population: -History:...
-2 Marine Terminal on Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
's Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
coast. It is also a major export route for oil from the Kashagan
Kashagan Field
Kashagan Field is an offshore oil field located in Kazakhstan. The field is situated in the northern part of the Caspian Sea close to the Kazakhstan city of Atyrau. The field was discovered in 2000 and was one of the larger discoveries in that decade, it is estimated that the Kashagan Field has...
and Karachaganak
Karachaganak Field
Karachaganak Field is a gas condensate field in Kazakhstan. It is located about 150 km east from the city of Oral in the northwest of Kazakhstan. The field was once a massive Permian and Carboniferous reef complex covering an area . At its largest point the reservoir contains a gas column ...
fields. , the CPC pipeline is the only oil export pipeline in Russian territory not wholly owned by Transneft
Transneft
Transneft is a Russian state-owned business responsible for the national oil pipelines. It was founded in 1993 and owns the largest oil pipeline system in the world, with a total network length of almost...
.
History
CPC was initially created in 1992 as a development by the Russian, Kazakhstani and Omani governments to build a dedicated pipeline from Kazakhstan to export routes in the Black Sea. Chevron CorporationChevron Corporation
Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining,...
was asked to join, however talks broke down due to the high financial burden Chevron would have to take on relative to equity in the pipeline. Progress on the project stalled for several years until 1996 when a restructure included eight production companies in the project. Among the companies were Chevron, Mobil
ExxonMobil
Exxon Mobil Corporation or ExxonMobil, is an American multinational oil and gas corporation. It is a direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil company, and was formed on November 30, 1999, by the merger of Exxon and Mobil. Its headquarters are in Irving, Texas...
, LUKoil
LUKoil
Lukoil/LUKoil ; ) is Russia's second largest oil company and its second largest producer of oil. In 2009, the company produced 97.615 million tons of oil; ....
, Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
and Rosneft
Rosneft
Rosneft is an integrated oil company majority owned by the Government of Russia. Rosneft is headquartered in Moscow’s Balchug district near the Kremlin, across the Moskva river...
. BP
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
joined the consortium in 2003. Shares were divided fifty-fifty between the three states and the eight companies. Production companies financed the construction cost of US$2.67 billion, while the Russian Federation contributed unused pipeline assets worth US$293 million. First oil was loaded onto a tanker at the Novorossiysk Marine Terminal on 13 October 2001 and the first stage of the pipeline was officially inaugurated on 27 November 2001. Regular operations started in April 2003.
In April 2007, the Russian government transferred its shares to the Russian state-owned oil pipeline company Transneft
Transneft
Transneft is a Russian state-owned business responsible for the national oil pipelines. It was founded in 1993 and owns the largest oil pipeline system in the world, with a total network length of almost...
. In October 2008, the Government of Oman sold its 7%-stake to Transneft at a price of $700million and withdrew from the project. On 17 December 2008, a memorandum on expanding the pipeline was signed.
Technical features
The diameter of the 1510 kilometres (938.3 mi) long oil pipeline varies between 1016 millimetres (40 in) and 1067 millimetres (42 in). There are five pumping stations. The marine terminal includes two single point mooringsSingle buoy mooring
Single Point Mooring is a loading buoy anchored offshore that serves as a mooring point and interconnect for tankers loading or offloading gas or liquid products. SPMs are the link between geostatic subsea manifold connections and weathervaning tankers...
and the tank farm consists of four steel storage tanks of 100000 cubic metres (3,531,466.6 cu ft) each. Pipeline throughflow started at 350000 oilbbl/d and has since increased to 700000 oilbbl/d.
An envisaged second stage will add 10 pumping stations for a total of 15. The number of tanks will increase to ten and one more mooring will be constructed. Capacity will increase to 1.3 Moilbbl/d. The second stage has been estimated to cost around US$2 billion and will be completed by 2012.
Operations
In 2008, CPC transported 31.5 million tons of crude, down from 32.6 million tonnes in 2007. In the first three months of 2009, the pipeline transported 8.7 million tonnes of oil.Consortium
The Caspian Pipeline Consortium was initially registered in the Bermuda Islands in 1992. It is split into two companies: CPC-R operates the Russian section of the pipeline and CPC-K operates the Kazakh section.The shareholders of the consortium are:
- Transneft - 31%
- Kazakhstan - 19%
- Chevron Caspian Pipeline Consortium Co. - 15%
- LukArcoLukArcoLukArco B.V. is a subsidiary of the Russian oil company Lukoil. It was formed in February 1997 as a joint venture between Lukoil and the former American oil company ARCO....
B.V. - 12.5% - Mobil Caspian Pipeline Co. - 7.5%
- Rosneft - Shell Caspian Ventures Ltd. - 7.5%
- AgipAgipAgip is an Italian automotive gasoline and diesel retailer established in 1926. It is a subsidiary of the multinational petroleum company Eni.In 2003, Eni S.p.A...
International (N.A.) N.V. - 2% - Oryx Caspian Pipeline LLC - 1.75%
- BG Overseas Holdings Ltd.BG GroupBG Group plc is a global oil and gas company headquartered in Reading, United Kingdom. It has operations in 25 countries across Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, North America and South America and produces around 680,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. It has a major Liquefied Natural Gas ...
- 2% - Kazakhstan Pipeline Ventures LLC (joint venture of KazMunayGasKazMunayGasKazMunayGas is the state-owned oil and gas company of Kazakhstan. It was founded in 2002 by merging Kazakhoil and Oil and Gas Transportation.-Subsidiaries:Main subsidiaries of KazMunayGas are:...
and BP)- 1.75%
Tengiz Field shareholders control 55.75% of the Consortium, Kasaghan shareholders control 33.1%.
In December 2009, BP sold its stake in LukArco to Lukoil for $1.6 billion.
External links
- Caspian Pipeline Consortium, official website
- New York Times map of pipeline route