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Sarmatia endorses feasibility report on Euro-Asian oil transportation corridor

28 April 2009 14:51 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Lachin Sultanova - APA. The participants in the Sarmatia international pipeline enterprise headquartered in Poland have endorsed a feasibility report for a project for a Euro-Asian oil transport corridor on the basis of the Odesa-Brody oil pipeline at their general meeting on April 24, according to Bohdan Sokolovskyi, the Ukrainian presidential envoy for international matters of the energy security.

According to Sokolovskyi, the project is commercially attractive and economically viable in three directions: the northern direction, which envisages the extension of the Odes-Brody oil pipeline and delivery of oil through Poland; in the western direction, which envisages oil deliveries through Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Austria; and the eastern direction, which envisages oil deliveries to Belarus.

"The most realistic and quick is the branch toward Slovakia. The project needs virtually no big investment to pump within next few years between 5 million and 7 million tons of transit crude per year, while 4 million tons or 5 million tons of crude will stay in Ukraine," KievPost quoted Sokolovskyi as saying.
He said the project concerns the first stage of the Euro-Asian oil transport corridor.
The second stage of the Euro-Asian oil transport corridor, according to Sokolovskyi, will require investing, including for the extension of the oil pipeline toward Plock and Gdansk in Poland, which will boost the capacity to 20 million tons per year.
The third stage of the project, according to the presidential envoy, will allow boosting the capacity to 40 million tons per year.
"This increase will be proportional for the west, the east - Belarus, and the north," Sokolovskyi said.
On April 9, President Viktor Yushchenko left for Azerbaijan for a two-day visit to take part in the Ukrainian-Azerbaijani Council of Presidents.
As Ukrainian News earlier reported, Sarmatia said in May 2008 it expected the extension of the Odesa-Brody oil pipeline to Gdansk (Poland) to be completed until 2012.
Sarmatia reached agreement with Granherne Limited on April 14, 2008, on conducting feasibility studies for a project involving creation of a Euro-Asian oil transport corridor on the basis of the Odesa-Brody oil pipeline.
In January 2008, the Socar Azerbaijani state oil and gas company, the Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation, and the Lithuanian Klaipedos Nafta joined founders of the Ukrainian-Polish Sarmatia joint venture.