Oil and Gas Pipeline Watch

China may join IPI pipeline.

Pakistani officials said, following a presidential visit to China, that their Asian neighbor could be included in the Iran-Pakistan-India natural gas pipeline.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said he was keen on including China in the long-awaited IPI pipeline because India has been "delaying" forward movement on the project, the Fars News Agency reported.

''The IPI project can become the IPC (Iran-Pakistan-China) project, or even if it is the IP (Iran-Pakistan) project, China can invest in it,'' Zardari said.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Mahmood Qureshi said, following the visit to China, his country had to move aggressively on the IPI pipeline because of a looming energy crisis, noting India or China could sign on to the deal later.

Iran brokered a Gas Sales Purchase Agreement with Pakistan in April following a visit to Islamabad by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The proposed 1,724-mile, $7.4 billion pipeline from the Iranian South Pars gas field will eventually carry nearly 2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas per year.

The natural gas demand for India is expected to double in the next 15 years, making the IPI attractive to New Delhi. China made no formal commitment to the pipeline.

TAPI gas project in doubt.

Commitments made by Turkmenistan to transport natural gas west to the Caspian region leave the future of a planned pipeline through Afghanistan in doubt.

Turkmenistan reached several deals with Caspian states and China to deliver their natural gas through existing pipeline arteries, leaving little resources for excess projects. Meanwhile, Turkmenistan fell short of its expected 2.5 trillion cubic feet target production in 2007, which means future projects would need to rely on untapped gas fields, The Hindu newspaper reported.

Pakistan has moved to secure a deal with Iran to bring natural gas from the Iranian South Pars gas field through the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline, with India not far behind in negotiations. China also has expressed interest in joining the IPI project following a meeting with top officials from Pakistan.

For its part, Turkmenistan said it could distribute its natural gas to the world market without risking political or security concerns in Iran, Pakistan or India by dealing with Caspian states or directly with China.

Kazakh gas transports expected through BTC.

BP said oil from the Tengiz field in Kazakhstan should reach Turkish ports through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline by November.

BP said Tengiz crude would flow through BTC at an initial rate of around 35 million barrels per year, with future estimates reaching 140 million barrels, the Azeri Press Agency reported.

Energy officials said introducing the lighter Tengiz crude to the current Azeri Light crude would have little impact on the overall quality of product through BTC.

Kazakhstan has emerged as a key energy hub. The exports from Tengiz to Western markets follow visits to the region by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney.

Transports through BTC were interrupted in August following a fire at a pumping station in Turkey and by the conflict between Russia and Georgia over the breakaway republic of South Ossetia.

Tengiz crude will reach the Azeri port of Baku via shipments across the Caspian Sea.

Bulgaria sidelined in South Stream plans.

Romanian officials met Monday with Russian energy giant Gazprom to discuss rerouting the South Stream natural gas pipeline, sidelining Bulgaria.

South Stream was intended, with Italian energy firm ENI, to bring natural gas to Italy from Russia through Bulgaria and Serbia to Hungary and Austria.

Energy analysts viewed the project with skepticism because of its high cost, but moving the route through Romania would cut 12 percent from the estimated $10 billion price tag, the Sofia Echo reported, citing various Russian dailies.

Gazprom chief Alexei Miller met with Constantin Grigorie, the Romanian envoy to Moscow, in an effort to convince the Romanian Transgaz to move away from the rival Western-backed Nabucco pipeline project and steer its resources to South Stream.

South Stream faces several delays and concerns due to the looming world financial crisis, though Valery Yazev, head of the Russian Gas Union, said Moscow anticipated few delays in major construction projects in the energy sector.

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