Oil and Gas Pipeline Watch

Ukrainian PM Tymoshenko moves against EU oil deliveries.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko moved to ban the delivery of Caspian oil supplies to the European Union through the Odessa-Brody pipeline.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said he would move his country away from Russian interference by moving closer to Europe. He had spoken with officials in Azerbaijan to move Caspian oil supplies to Europe. However, Tymoshenko filed a court appeal blocking the measure, the Ukrainian Journal reported.

"According to my information, the appeal has been submitted by Tymoshenko lawmakers," said Maryana Stavniychuk, the president's deputy chief of staff.

Tymoshenko in July blocked oil shipper UkrTransNafta from signing a contract with the oil trading firm Milbert Ventures to bring Caspian reserves to Europe.

The premier said the move is not a measure opposing European relations, but a way to ensure the collaboration of all Caspian oil producers.

"The government will, of course, support the project if it is joined by companies that own and have the confirmed oil reserves," she said.

The Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council set a Sept. 1 deadline for Kiev to reach a negotiated settlement on the issue.

Alaska Senate approves TransCanada deal.

The Alaska State Senate handed Republican Gov. Sarah Palin a victory in her bid to deliver natural gas from the Alaska North Slope through a deal with TransCanada.

State senators backed a measure by 14-5 to give TransCanada rights to develop the pipeline to transport natural gas to the lower 48 states, the Juneau Empire reported.

"We think this is a significant milestone day for Alaska, and it is certainly that for TransCanada," said TransCanada's Tony Palmer.

Palin faced opposition from state lawmakers who opposed outsourcing Alaskan natural resources to a Canadian firm. Oil firms active in the state, BP, ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil, also opposed the deal due in part to competing leases in the region.

The Alberta pipeline company will petition the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as soon as possible, and corporate officials said work on the actual pipeline could begin before the end of the year.

Alaskan Commissioner of Natural Resources Tom Irwin, however, noted work on the planned 1,750-mile pipeline would continue well into the next decade.

IPI talks delayed.

The new Pakistani government has replaced its deputy petroleum minister, causing a delay in talks on the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline.

Islamabad transferred the former minister, Zafar Mahmood, to another post in July because of an ongoing disagreement over the price of natural gas. G.A. Sabri was appointed as acting secretary of petroleum and natural resources.

Pakistan was scheduled to meet with Iranian officials regarding the planned 1,724-mile long natural gas pipeline, but the ministerial change delayed that meeting, the Iranian Mehr News Agency reported.

The project is expected to ease the mounting energy shortfalls in Pakistan and India. China has expressed interest in joining the project as well.

The United States opposes the measure due to the economic benefit for Iran.

The pipeline transfers resources from the offshore South Pars natural gas field.

EUPEC signs Nord Stream measure.

The French-based pipeline manufacturer EUPEC signed a contract to produce the concrete coating for the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea.

The $1 billion deal will keep the 2011 deadline for the 758-mile pipeline reaching from Russia to Germany though the Baltic Sea intact, Nord Stream AG said in a press statement.

The contract is for the concrete coating, transport, storage and handling of pipe segments.

EUPEC stores about 12,000 pipe segments at a storage facility in German and plans to start the coating process in 2009.

--

(e-mail: energy@upi.com)