Pre-Feasibility Studies North-South Gas Transit

Title of Project:

Pre-feasibility studies for developing the North-South gas transit interconnections in Caucasus and Central Asia

Reference Number:      

2006 – 82056

Action Programme:

TACIS Regional Action Programme 2003

Beneficiary Countries:

Beneficiary Countries:   Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkmenistan

Beneficiary Organisations:   Gas companies, Energy Ministries & IFIs

Management Contact Details:

Lead Partner:

Mott MacDonald Ltd. (United Kingdom)

St Anne House
Wellesley Road
Croydon CR9 2UL
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 20 8774 2000 (general)

Contact Persons:

Mr.Azfar Shaukat (Project Director)              Mr. Alan Littler (Team Leader)

Tel:         +44 (0) 20 8774 2586  / 

Mobile:   +44 78 0090 1114,                           +44 77 9254805

Fax:        +44 (0) 20 8681 5706                                  

azfar.shaukat@mottmac.com                       alittler@hotmail.co.uk

Consortium Partners:

KANTOR Management Consultants SA (Greece)

KLC Law Firm (Kallimopoulos Loukopoulos Chiotellis Law Firm, Greece)

Total Budget of Project:

 €1,576,500

Equipment Suppliers:

Not Applicable

Sector of Activities:      

Technical Assistance, Desk Study

Start Date of Project:

4th of August 2006

End Date of Project:

31st of December 2007

Project Objective

The project lays the foundations for improvement of the physical conditions of the existing infrastructure and enhancing the security of the gas transit in the region, as well as the security of supply in the EU.

Overall Project Objective: To enhance the security of the gas supply to the EU by developing and facilitating for investment attraction the most promising routes for gas transit from the Caspian Sea and Central Asian regions to Europe.

Specific project objectives:

• To determine the operation and maintenance status of the pipeline assets and identify rehabilitation opportunities
• To identify, develop pre-feasibility studies and facilitate for investment attraction, the most promising gas transit routes from the Caspian Sea and Central Asian regions to Europe
• To propose improvements in the security of gas supply within the region and to Western Europe through interconnection of the oil and gas distribution networks.

Project Brief Description of Activities / Approaches:

Main project activities are divided into the following components:

• Component A:   Elaboration of Pre-Feasibility Study.
• Component B:   Upraising of interest of involved countries in supporting the most promising gas transit routes and of IFIs in investing on them.
• Component C:   Identification of the current gas losses on transit networks and prioritization of those that need to be addressed though emergency actions.
• Component D:   Preparation of specific studies for interventions on priority emergency areas including full set of documents with economic /budget analysis for obtaining funding.
• Component E:   Promote the projects to the IFIs for financial support
• Component F:    Prepare recommendations on maintenance practices aiming to prevent gas losses in the future

Within the time framework these components are scheduled as follows:

Initial Phase (Sept - Dec 2006)

Mobilisation

• Set up the Base of Operation

Pre-feasibility

• Analyse Previous Studies
• Define and Agree Routes
• Produce Studies

Inception Report

• Gather Information
• Produce Report

Gas Losses

• Analyse Previous Studies
• Gather Data
• Analyse Data
• Produce Report

Mid Phase (Jan - Jun 2007)

Pre-feasibility

• Finalise Studies
• Appraise Interest
• Arrange National and Regional Meetings
• Follow-up with IFIs

Promote Projects with IFIs

• Prioritise Projects
• Present to IFIs

Maintenance

• Identify Issues
• Prepare Recommendations

Progress Report

• Prepare Report

End Phase (Jul - Dec 2007)

Promote Projects with IFIs

• Continue Discussions with IFIs

Maintenance

• Finalise Recommendations

Progress report

• Prepare Report

Final Report

• Prepare Report

Intended Results / Encountered Limitations:

Intended project results:

• a pre-feasibility study undertaken for enhancing and extending the existing gas interconnection in Caucasus and Caspian Basin regions;
• the interest upraised of involved countries in supporting the most promising transit routes and the interest of IFIs in investing on them;
• priority areas identified of gas losses on transit lines to be addressed through emergency actions;
• specific studies prepared for interventions on priority emergency areas, including full set of documents with economic / budget analysis for obtaining funding;
• identified projects promoted to the IFIs for financial support
• recommendations prepared on maintenance standards, policies and practices aiming to prevent gas losses in the future

Status of the Project:

• The project is just starting. The Kick-off Meeting was held in Brussels on 14th of September 2006.
• Planned current activities for September/October:
• End of September– meetings arranged with EU Delegations, Ministries, Gas companies and IFIs in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkmenistan.
• October– One team will visit Armenia and Georgia between 2nd and 20th October. The other team will go to Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan from 7th to 20th October. The teams will meet in Tbilisi on 5th and 6th October to start setting up the Base of Operations, together with beneficiary and consortium meetings. Week beginning 9th October– complete meetings in Tbilisi and Baku.
• Week beginning 16th October– complete meetings in Yerevan and Ashgabat.
• In parallel with these visits, experts have to review the available background documentation and circulating the main findings to our experts.
• Week beginning 23rd October– assemble information and draft the report.
• Week beginning 30th October– finalise report by Wednesday 1st November.
• The aim is to produce the Inception Report by 4th November 2006.

Expected Date of Special Events (if any):

Conclusions & Summaries:

Updated on:

 31 October 2006