Azerbaijan, Baku, November 18/ Trend , corr E. Ismayilov/ The signing of agreement between SOCAR and Kazakh KazMunayGaz, launching Baku-Supsa pipeline and plans of its expansion until 2012 by 2.5mln tons and increase in capacity of Kulevi terminal to 20mln tons will contribute to the realization of Odessa-Brody pipeline project, Ukrainian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Boris Klimchuk said.
"It means that oil both in Georgian and Russian shore of Black Sea will be pumped to Odessa," Klimchuk told press conference on November 18.
Quoting Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko as saying, Klimchuk stated that in spite of certain problems in the Ukrainian government, the feasibility study of the project elaborated by Sarmatiya will be carried out in Q1 of 2009. This company will realize the project of development of Odessa-Brody pipeline and its possible continuation to Plotsk and Gdansk.
Last week national oil companies of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan - SOCAR and KazMunayGaz - signed an agreement on creating Trans Caspian System of Transportation of Kazakh oil via Azerbaijan's territory and Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and railway in Georgian Black Sea ports of Kulevi and Batumi.
Odessa-Brody oil transport project was planned to diversify oil supply to Ukrainian oil refineries and develop transit opportunities of the country. The Construction of Oddessa-Brody oil pipeline completed in May, 2002. It has a length of 647 km, diameter of 1020mm. The capacity of first line of oil pipeline and terminal makes up 9mln to 14mln tons a year.
Odessa-Brody was planned to pump the Caspian oil to Europe. Ukraine has unsuccessfully attempted to reach agreement to transport the Caspian oil in the pipe in a forward direction for the two years since its construction. Not getting any proposals by companies, at the end of 2004 Ukrainian government permitted to use the pipeline to transport Russian oil in reverse direction. So, the pipeline has operated in reverse regime since its construction which calls transport of oil from Brod in Odessa and onwards by tankers through the Black Sea straits.
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