Iran objects to Caspian seabed pipelines

TEHRAN. January 24. KAZINFORM Iran says it opposes the construction of any underwater pipeline in the Caspian Sea that will carry oil from Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan.

"The pipeline carrying Kazakh oil to Azerbaijan will be constructed on the seabed and could pose threats to the ecological system of the Caspian Sea," Hossein Noqrekar-Shirazi, the deputy head of Iran's oil minister in international affairs, said Saturday. He added that Iran is against any plan that can disturb the ecological balance of the Caspian Sea, noting that Russia also opposes the construction of the pipeline. The transfer of oil produced in the Caspian Sea to global markets is considered a major obstacle for the littoral states. In June 2008, Iran announced plans to build a cross-country pipeline to transfer oil from the Caspian region to the Persian Gulf and world markets. Iran is currently conducting feasibility studies for the 1,550-kilometer pipeline, which is expected to carry one million barrels of oil per day from the northern port of Neka to Jask Port in southern Iran. Noqrekar-Shirazi said earlier that Iran had held several rounds of talks with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia on the construction of the Neka-Jask pipeline. An agreement, however, has yet to be reached on the issue, Kazinform cites PRESS TV.