Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 30
By Emil Ismayilov - Trend:
An official decision is expected soon on increasing the authorized capital of the International Pipeline Enterprise (IPE) Sarmatia. IPE Sarmatia was created to attract investments for the design and completion of construction of the Odessa-Brody oil pipeline until the Polish city of Plock, the IPE Sarmatia Director General Sergei Skripka told Trend Jan. 30.
The Ukrainian company Ukrtransnafta and the Polish company PERN Przyjazn established IPE Sarmatia on July 12, 2004
Skripka said that according to preliminary information, the IPE participants have already agreed upon the issue of increasing the authorized capital of the enterprise.
"I hope that a decision will be made in the near future," he added.
Currently, the IPE Sarmatia's authorized capital stands at 20.06 million zlotys (about five million euros). Plans are to increase this amount by about 20 percent.
Skripka said that increasing the authorized capital of Sarmatia will make it possible to adjust the feasibility study (FS) of the construction project of Brody-Plotsk (Adam's gate) oil pipeline in connection with the proceeding of work without additional funding from the European Union (EU).
Also, after increasing the authorized capital, work on spatial planning of the pipeline route on the territory of Poland will be completed, according to Skripka.
Earlier, within the framework of obtaining an environmental permit, this work was carried out in 17 administrative units of Poland, and increasing the authorized capital of the IPE will allow implementing this process in the remaining nine administrative units.
"This is a part of the preparation for the future, obtaining a construction permit," he said.
Earlier, funds in the amount of about 120 million euros were reserved within the framework of the EU "Infrastructure and Environment" program in order to support the project.
However, the possibility of using these funds was lost because of the Polish side. The reason is that according to the regulations of the general meeting of Sarmatia International Pipeline Company participants, the decisions can be taken only on a unanimous basis.
The Brody-Plock (Adam's gate) oil pipeline is currently the sole missing part of the Euro-Asian Oil Transportation Corridor (EOTC).
As a result of realization of this project, the Caspian states will receive an additional reliable route for their oil supplies to the European market, new customers, and opportunities to work in adjacent markets will also expand.
The studies on the choice of a route for the future Brody-Adam's gate oil pipeline have been completed. The route's total length will be 377 kilometers, some 120 kilometers of the pipeline being built in Ukraine, and 257 kilometers in Poland.
The participants of Sarmatia are: the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation Ltd. (GOGC), Ukrainian UkrTransNafta, Polish Przedsiebiorstwo Eksploatacji Rurociagow Naftowych Przyjazn S.A. and Lithuanian AB Klaipedos Nafta. The share of the main participants is 24.75 percent each, while the Lithuanian company has a one percent share.
Odessa-Brody oil transport project was aimed at diversification of the oil supply to Ukrainian refineries and developing the country's transit opportunities. The construction of Odessa-Brody was completed in May 2002.
The length of the pipeline is 674 kilometers, while the diameter of the pipe is equal to 1,020 millimeters.
Edited by CN
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