Caspian Pipeline Deal Signed

Three governments and eight oil companies signed a pipeline deal crucial to developing the Caspian Sea’s vast oil reserves. The package of agreements formalize earlier protocols on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which will build a 900-mile pipeline from Kazakstan’s Tengiz fields to a Russian port on the Black Sea. Private U.S., European and Russian oil companies have a 50% share in the consortium. The remaining 50% is controlled by the three governments: Russia, with 24%, Kazakstan 19%, and Oman 7%. San Francisco-based Chevron Corp., which is developing the Tengiz fields, has a 15% share in the consortium. Other shareholders include Mobil Corp. at 7.5%. According to Chevron, Russia’s central and regional governments will make more than $20 billion in taxes and revenue over the pipeline’s 40-year life. The $2-billion pipeline is supposed to be operating by 1999. Ultimately, it will carry 1.5 million barrels of oil a day.