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Exports through the Caspian pipeline, which carries Kazakh crude oil to the Black Sea, were unaffected by a leak which occurred in mid-February.Tengizchevroil, the Chevron-led operator at Tengiz, said it had stopped sending crude via its main pipeline route due to the leak. Production continued at full capacity and is currently leveraging a combination of other crude export outlets and onsite storage.A CPC spokesman couldn't say when the shipments from Tengiz would resume, but said in a statement it was working to "resume the pipeline's full shipping capacity."Tengizchevroil produces 540,000 barrels a day and the pipeline operated by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium is its main export route.
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, a champion of renewable energy and biofuels, has a clear position about the future of oil.
He says global demand for it will increase over the next two decades and even with more efficiency and alternative fuels, prices will increase again. In the long run, over the next two decades, he said, he's certain the price of crude will be significantly higher than today. Crude oil has dropped from a high last summer of $145 a barrel to a recent low of about $34.
The South Yolotan-Osman Field in the southeast of Turkmenistan contains between 4 trillion and 14 trillion cubic meters of gas in place. The upper end of that estimate is approximately three times the European Union's annual consumption of the fuel.
Given these findings, Turkmenistan should be able to confidently move ahead with plans to boost its exports of gas. At the moment, it sells most of its gas to Russia -- about 50 billion cubic meters a year, which is mostly resold to Ukraine -- and a little to Iran. But it has plans to export to China and Europe too, as well as significantly boost sales to Russia. China is building a pipeline from Turkmenistan that will have the capacity to bring 30 billion cubic meters a year, and Ashgabad has also agreed to sell 10 billion cubic meters to Europe.
