Following article points to Fred Moseley's and Michael Klare's thesis that US
has interest in removing Taleban in order to install a more stable and intl
respected regime that will allow Unocal to build a pipeline from Turkmenistan
to Pakistan. Jonathan Flanders has written a provocative post on this matter on
marxmail.org--he seems to be an advancing point long made by Mark Jones. The
primary US interest may be in securing a plentiful and cheap supply of scarce
resources on very favorable terms to US energy companies.
However, the US may have difficulty in forming a Afghani govt that has an
ethnic base not composed of Hazaras and Tajiks who as Persian speakers may be
too open to influence from Iran. In terms of trustworthiness and loyalty, the
Taleban made of mostly of Pakhtoons seemed to be a govt that the US could trust
to protect its oil resources. Perhaps US will do no more than repackage the
Taleban--or some ethnically chauvinist group that cannot really secure
stability of region. Why exactly Unocal withdraw would be most interesting to
know.
rb
Work to speed up on Central Asia gas pipeline. Oil and Gas Journal v97, n25
(June 21, 1999):31.
[Long Display]
COPYRIGHT 1999 PennWell Publishing Company
Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan have
agreed to accelerate work on a stalled gas pipeline project and have
asked the CentGas consortium to find a project leader to replace Unocal Corp.
The three countries have agreed to overcome
"expeditiously" all problems related to building the $1.9 billion, 1.9
bcfd, 1,400-km pipeline from Turkmenistan's
Daulatabad gas fields to Multan. According to Pakistan Petroleum
Minister Nisar All Khan, the three countries
"have resolved that the project will continue," the minister told reporters
after signing a tripartite agreement recently "We
have agreed on a 3month timetable to activate this project."
Although CentGas signed agreements with
Turkmenistan to build the pipeline, it delayed work because of factional
fighting in Afghanistan.
CentGas rival Bridas Sapic, Buenos Aires, said at
the end of last year that it would not wait for peace to start laying
the Afghan portion of the line, if awarded the
contract (OGJ, Jan. 4, 1999, Newsletter). But the Taliban government in
Afghanistan has not signed a contract with
Bridas, which has pursued the project for 3 years.
CentGas
The three governments are seeking a partner for
the CentGas consortium to replace project leader Unocal, which
withdrew last November, Nisar said.
Unocal originally held a 54.11% share in the
project. Turkmenistan's government holds 7%. Other CentGas
participants include Saudi Arabia's Delta Oil
15%, Japan's Itochu Corp. and Inpex 7.22% each, South Korea's
Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. 5.54%, and
Pakistan's Crescent Group 3.89%.
"We have asked CentGas to find a leader in 3
months," Nisar said. "The project leader can either be from CentGas
itself or from outside."
Unocal withdrew from the project. saying the
Taliban government in Afghanistan must first be recognized by the
United Nations and the U.S., and peace must
return to that country, which has suffered about 20 years of civil war.
Unocal's withdrawal had given the impression that
the project had collapsed, but the three countries have decided to
carry it forward, even if the Afghan government
is not recognized and financing is not available through conventional
channels, Nisar said.
Project options
Officials from the three countries had agreed
that, in a "worst-case scenario," the project might be split in three parts,
with each country responsible for the segment of pipeline within its territory,
he said.
The pipeline would extend 764 km in Afghanistan,
about 500 km in Pakistan, and the rest in Turkmenistan. The Taliban government
controls more than 90% of Afghanistan territory, but the government is
recognized only byPakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the U.A.E.
Daulatabad is among the world's largest gas producing areas and is thought
to be capable of producing 1.5 bcfd or more for 30 years.
If the pipeline project materializes, it would serve as a catalyst
for several other, similar oil and gas pipeline projects in the region, with
benefits for Central Asia and South Asia, the minister said.
"We strongly feel that it will serve as a window through which
South Asia will get connected to Central Asia," he
said.
The next meeting of the three countries will be held in the
Turkmen capital of Ashgabat in July.
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