UT1, Kiev,
22, May 2008

The presidents of Ukraine and Azerbaijan, Viktor Yushchenko and Ilham Aliyev, have both noted progress in developing the Odessa-Brody-Gdansk oil project, but stopped short of naming any date for when the project may realistically start delivering Caspian oil from Azerbaijan via Ukraine to Poland.

The presidents were speaking at a joint news conference on 22 May after bilateral talks, which they held as part of the European Energy Summit being hosted by Kiev. The news conference was broadcast live by Ukraine's state-owned UT1 TV channel.

Asked when the Odessa-Brody pipeline may start transporting oil in its original western direction, President Yushchenko said the issue was discussed "at the technical level" by a working group on 22 May.

"The issue of filling the Odessa-Brody pipeline with Caspian oil and (shipping it) further on to oil refineries in Ukraine and other countries was discussed at the technical level during talks today and contacts within the working group. The working group meeting was attended by Mr Dubyna (Ukrainian oil and gas company head). The issue was discussed by the working group. Working contacts have begun to calculate volumes of Baku oil to be supplied, so I would say the issue is on a technical plane," Yushchenko said.

For his part, Ilham Aliyev noted that the working group is to come up with specific technical proposals by the beginning of July.

"As regards a specific timing for the implementation of operations within the Odessa-Brody project, the working group, I am sure, will present specific proposals of both economic and technical nature by the beginning of July. You know that the process is under way in terms of developing a technical and economic feasibility study for the project. Today we discussed possibilities for some pilot projects to test this route not just theoretically, but practically as well," Aliyev said.

He described Azerbaijan's newly-built oil terminal in Georgia's Qulevi as "a crucial link" in the new "energy corridor" involving Odessa-Brody.

Aliyev said the Odessa-Brody project could be extended still further and could be regarded as a Caspian-Baltic corridor: "Today we are already talking about an energy corridor that could link the Caspian with the Black Sea. This is a new element of regional cooperation - the Caspian region, the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea. That is, this project has a very large format. The political support of all the countries involved in the project is there. All that remains is for us to agree the economic and technical details and, as I have already noted, to test this in practice and look at the result."

Aliyev also expressed interest in expanding Azerbaijan's role in oil processing and distribution in Ukraine.

"Naturally, Azerbaijan's involvement in this project in a broader context was discussed today, because when it comes to Azerbaijani oil, it is freely supplied to the Black Sea basin and could be used to fill up the Odessa-Brody pipeline, but we are talking about a broader cooperation format, such as the possibility of joint action in oil refining, distribution, entering Ukrainian markets with oil products and maybe neighbouring countries. To sum up, we are looking at it in a broad format. I know that Ukraine's position is identical," Aliyev said.

The news conference lasted for half an hour. More to follow.