Kazakh bid for stake in pipeline?
Kazakhstan is interested in acquiring a stake in the Burgas-to-Alexandroupolis pipeline, a deal that would allow it to pump its oil to the Mediterranean, according to a senior industry official. The pipeline, scheduled to transport Russian crude oil from the Bulgarian port of Burgas to northeastern Greece’s Alexandroupolis, is being constructed by Greece, Russia and Bulgaria. Each country will hold a stake in the project, with the majority going to Russia. Klara Rakhmetova, director at Kazakh state oil and gas firm KazMunayGas, told a round-table meeting on energy in Athens yesterday that the company is examining the viability of acquiring a stake in the project. «Kazakhstan would not only be a supplier of petrol but would also take part in the construction of the project,» she said through a translator. It was not clear who Kazakhstan might buy the stake from. Kazakhstan produces 65 million tons of oil per year, of which 57 million tons are exported.
