US has political, economic stake(US backed pipeline) in far-flung spat between Russia and Georgia

[maddezmom]

By ANNE GEARAN
AP Diplomatic Writer


WASHINGTON (AP) -- There's more than meets the eye to the frantic U.S. efforts Friday to talk Russia and U.S. ally Georgia out of war over an obscure mountain tract most Americans have never heard of.

A look at the map and your gas credit card bill shows why.
South Ossetia is claimed by Georgia, the former Soviet republic that cast its lot with the United States and the West to the eternal irritation of Moscow. The breakaway province has been under Russia's sway for years.

Georgia sits in a tough neighborhood, shoulder to shoulder with huge Russia, not far from Iran, and astride one of the most important crossroads for the emerging wealth of the rich Caspian Sea region. A U.S.-backed oil pipeline runs through Georgia, allowing the West to reduce its reliance on Middle Eastern oil while bypassing Russia and Iran.

The dispute makes the Bush administration the middleman between a promising ally it wants to help and the powerful former adversary next door whose help it needs.

more:http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/080908/loc_20080809477.shtml


Turkey pipeline repairs may take over 2 weeks
~snip~
The $4 billion BTC pipeline pumps the equivalent of more than 1 percent of world supply from fields in the Azeri sector of the Caspian Sea to Ceyhan on the Turkish Mediterranean coast.

Longer than expected

The biggest hindrance to firefighting efforts has been oil that has settled in the pipeline since flow was stopped on Tuesday. A second Botas source said the fire was expected to be put out on Saturday.

"The fire is continuing, but has weakened since yesterday ... It is expected to be put out today, but it is taking longer than expected to extinguish," the source told Reuters.

High level officials from the BTC consortium have arrived in the province of Erzincan, where the fire is burning, to examine the condition of the pipeline and discuss how to act, he said.

BP owns 30.1 percent of BTC, while Azeri state oil company Socar holds 25 percent. Other shareholders include U.S. companies Chevron and ConocoPhillips, Norway's StatoilHydro, Italy's ENI and France's Total.

more:http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?col=§ion=business&xfile=data/business/2008/August/business_August327.xml

[whistle]

1. OIL AGAIN!!!!!

[jwirr]

2. Take note this is not just a Georgia, Russia, US issue - much of the EU

has interests in keeping the area safe and peaceful.

[bemildred]

3. No offense intended to you Mom, but I think this deserves a "No shit!" award.

I am tending to the idea that Russia has decided to make its move, precipitated by the what's his name - the Georgian grand poobah's - decision to make his move. Suggests August 1914 somehow.

[maddezmom]

4. agree

no offense taken ;)

[maddezmom]

5. Western Concern Grows Over Oil, Gas Pipes Through Georgia

Western Concern Grows Over Oil, Gas Pipes Through Georgia

August 10, 2008: 09:11 AM EST


LONDON (AFP)--Western concerns are growing over the impact of the conflict between Georgia and Russia on a key oil pipeline through the region from the Caspian Sea to the West, analysts say.

While Georgia doesn't produce oil itself, U.S. and European energy firms have counted on the pro-Western country - sandwiched between Russia and Iran further south - to host a conduit for oil and gas exports from Azerbaijan.

Since President Mikhail Saakashvili took power in 2004 two new pipes have been built, and the explosion of violence between Georgia and huge northern neighbor is threatening those, notably the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.

As if vindicating those concerns, the head of Azerbaijan's state oil company said Saturday that oil exports had been halted via the Georgian ports of Batumi and Kulevi due to the clashes over the breakaway region of South Ossetia.

more:http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200808100911DOWJONESDJONLINE000220_FORTUNE5.htm