Ukraine intends to discuss with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia the possibility of joining efforts to create a consortium for oil shipment to Europe via Ukraine, Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych said in Davos on Thursday, according to Baku Today.
"We will discuss the possibility of joining efforts with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia, and we will discuss how we can create a consortium that would be interested in transporting oil via Ukraine to Europe," Yanukovych told journalists in an interview in Davos on Thursday.
He said that at a meeting with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev held on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, he had an opportunity to discuss the implementation of agreements reached during his visit to Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan, after the launching of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, must be interested in new markets, Yanukovych said.
Yanukovych said that one of the possible ways to transport Azeri oil is through the Odessa-Brody oil pipeline. He said there are other options, in particular shipments by tanker from Supsy in Georgia to Odessa, and there is also the possibility of building an oil pipeline on the Black Sea bottom to Odessa.
He noted that Russia, Kazakhstan, and Shell, who work in Kazakhstan, are also interested in ways to transportation oil.
Answering journalists` questions, Yanukovych said that during the plenary session of Energy 2007 at the World Economic Forum, he intends to voice his opinion regarding Ukraine`s participation in extraction and transportation of oil. The conference will examine the situation in the world`s oil markets, as well as Ukraine`s position in these markets.
According to Yanukovych, the subject to be discussed will be oil transportation, aligning the interests of oil producers and consumers, as well as the position of transit countries.
