Kazakhstan Oil Moves Further West

A new threshold has been crossed for the Odessa-Brody-Plock oil pipeline project with the announcement by Ukrainian Energy Minister Sergei Ermilov that pumping of Kazakh oil will begin at the end of April or the beginning of May.

The European Commission has received confirmation from the Ukraine that contracts are already in place for the purchase by Ukraine of Kazakh crude oil for the pipeline -now ready to operate - between Odessa and Brody (Northern Ukraine). Once the pipeline is filled, Ukraine's railways will begin to ship up to a million tonnes of oil a year to Polish refineries in Plock, under the terms of an agreement between Poland and the Ukraine. Capacity may eventually be raised to 5 million tonnes.

Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma has however tempered the project backers' optimism, recalling that the project ultimately depends on Kazakhstan.