U.S. sees Baku-Ceyhan accord in coming months
ISTANBUL, June 22 (Reuters) - A U.S. energy official said on Tuesday
he believed an accord would be reached in the coming months on issues hindering
a proposed pipeline to carry Caspian oil to Turkey.
U.S. adviser on Caspian energy issues Richard Morningstar said he saw
progress in efforts to resolve disagreements on the pipeline between Baku
and Turkey's Mediterranean port at Ceyhan.
"I believe very strongly that there will be an agreement with respect
to Baku-Ceyhan in the coming months," Morningstar told a news conference
during his last visit to the region in his capacity as adviser.
Morningstar, who is set to take up the post of U.S. ambassador to the
European Union, is to be replaced as Caspian adviser by John Wolf who accompanied
him on the trip.
In April, Turkey and an Azeri working group, which includes international
oil firms, signed an accord to speed up talks on Baku-Ceyhan and clear
up outstanding issues within three months.
The Azeri working group is pressing for Turkey to sweeten the deal with
a government guarantee on the cost and a turnkey guarantee. It also wants
to lower the estimated $2.4 billion construction cost of the 1,730-km
(1,070-mile) pipeline.
"A year ago the partners weren't even talking about these things.
Today they are actively negotiating to resolve these issues," Morningstar
said. Earlier in the day he held talks with Turkish Energy Minister Cumhur
Ersumer.
Morningstar reiterated U.S. commitment to Baku-Ceyhan and a planned
pipeline to carry gas from Turkmenistan through the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan
and Georgia to Turkey.
"Our support for the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline and for the Transcaspian
gas pipeline is unwavering," he said.
The United States aims to secure multiple routes to the West for Caspian
oil to minimise the influence of Russia and Iran.
Morningstar repeated U.S. opposition to a pipeline through Iran because
of "political difficulties" and because: "It simply makes
no sense from a commercial standpoint."
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