Russia and Kazakhstan sign agreements on oil and power transit

energy

Russia and Kazakhstan sign agreements on oil and power transit

By SRI ⋅ November 24, 2009 ⋅

(SRI) - Russia and Kazakhstan have concluded agreements on oil transit and the parallel operation of the two countries’ power grids, according to media reports. The deals were signed November 20 by Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko and his Kazakh counterpart Sauat Mynbayev.

The two countries reportedly revised a forecast of oil transit volumes and transit routes and agreed to explore cooperation in the construction of new oil pipelines, including the Samsun-Ceyhan pipeline in Turkey.

In a deal on power generation, Russia and Kazakhstan agreed on measures to ensure the parallel operation of the two countries’ electrical power grids.

“We have determined commercial terms, volumes of power supplies between the two counties, their regulation and a mechanism of calculating payments for transit,” Shmatko said. The agreement will reportedly help address the power deficit in Siberia after an accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydropower plant earlier this year.

In a separate agreement, the transport ministries of both countries signed a deal to set mutually favorable tariffs for the transportation of Kazakh cargo across Russia and Russian cargo across Kazakhstan, Russian news agency Prime-Tass reported.