Azerbaijan, Baku, July 3 / Trend E.Ismayilov /
Sarmatia Pipeline Company once again extended a tender to select a contractor designing a feasibility study and a report on environmental impact of construction of the [Brody-Plotzk] oil pipeline, connecting the Polish and Ukrainian oil transportation system, Sarmatia CEO Sergey Skripka told Trend over a telephone.
"The participants consistently ask us to give them more time. The most recent extension, which we have done, is that the company will have to provide us the preliminary proposal until July 8. Then we will have a period of negotiations, somewhere during the week and then they should will submit a final proposal, " Skripka said.
He said eight companies appealed for participation in the tender. Basically, it is well-known international companies, but most of them have branches and representative offices in Poland.
In accordance with the terms of the competition, five companies will be allowed for the second phase of the tender and they will submit their bids. But, the possibility of participation of over five companies in the second phase was not excluded. The first stage is planned to be completed this week, after which the selected company will prepare and submit bids within this project. The company or consortium of companies, which will be working on the project, will be known by the middle of next month.
The project on construction of the Brody-Plock (Brody-Adamova gates) connecting the Polish and Ukrainian oil transportation system, which is part of the Eurasian oil transport corridor, is included in an operating program of the European Union, "Infrastructure and Environment" as priority project.
About 495 million zlotys (about 120 million euros) was allocated to this project under the Infrastructure and Environment program. The IPC must fulfill several conditions to obtain this funding (of course, it is part-funding). Some of these conditions are reflected in the preliminary contract, which the company had signed earlier with the Krakow Oil and Gas Institute operating as the coordinator of the program. The Institute has been monitoring fulfillment of these conditions. Based on the preliminary agreement, the company will have a number of additional studies to clarify the route and develop a detailed feasibility study for construction of the pipeline.
Sarmatia selected a juridical consultant (a Polish company) March 15, which will serve the company under the work related to fulfilling terms of preliminary contract on financing from the EU funds.
Previously, a feasibility study of oil transportation corridor was prepared.
It will be possible to talk about the beginning of construction after the goals set in the preliminary contract reached. However, the construction should be completed no later than 2014, and this is a strict requirement of the Infrastructure and Environment program.
The Odessa-Brody oil project plans to diversify oil supplies to Ukrainian refineries and transit facilities for the country's development. The construction of Odessa-Brody was completed in May 2002. The pipeline has a length of 674 kilometers and a diameter of 1,020 millimeters. The pipeline and the terminal's capacity are 9-14 million tons per year.
Azerbaijan plays a major role in the Odessa-Brody- Plotts-Gdansk. However, Azerbaijan can work as a transit country and supply not only its own oil via the pipeline, but also oil from Central Asia, for instance from Kazakhstan.
Work within the project is carried out by the Sarmatia international oil pipeline company, which was founded in 2004. Company participants are SOCAR, the Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation, the Lithuanian Klaipedos Oil, the Polish PERN Pshiyazn and the Ukrainian Ukrtransnafta.
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