`The World Is Not Enough` oil pipeline gets completed in reality
26-May-2005 • Bond News
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Oil is set to flow from the Caspian Sea direct to the Mediterranean for the first time after a $3.6bn (£2bn) pipeline opened on Wednesday - reports the BBC.
The pipeline was used as a plot device in the 1999 James Bond film "The World Is Not Enough", when Elektra King wanted to dominate the world by controlling the oil supply to the West.
Producer Barbara Broccoli came up with the idea for the film after seeing a documentary on the construction of the pipeline. Writer Robert Wade recalled, "I'd bought this magazine and it had a picture of some oil pipelines in the Caspian Sea and then oddly enough Barbara Broccoli, who's one of the two producers, had seen a documentary about it and we all thought well that's sort of, that is ⦠I think what one tries to do is anticipate what is everyone anxious about. I'm not talking about everyone being worried about oil but it seemed to be..."
Starting in Azerbaijan, the 1,600km (1,000 mile) pipeline will pass through Georgia to the Turkish port of Ceyhan.
The project has taken more than 10 years to finish and will unlock one of the world's biggest energy reserves.
It has not been without controversy, however, and there have been protests about the impact on the environment.
Some demonstrators were beaten and arrested last Saturday, with Azeri authorities saying that they acted because the protest was too close to the pipeline.
Wednesday's inauguration at the Sangachal oil terminal near Baku was attended by presidents from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Turkey.
US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman also was present at a ceremony where the taps were turned on.
The pipeline has been an international effort and was built by a consortium led by UK oil giant BP, which has a 30% stake.
Other consortium members include Azerbaijan's state oil company Socar, Amerada Hess, ConocoPhillips, Eni, Inpex, Itochu, Statoil, Total, TPAO and Unocal.
David Woodward, the head of BP's operations in Azerbaijan, said that the opening marked the former Soviet state's "rebirth as an important country for the oil industry, just as it was more than a century ago".
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliev said that "this pipeline first of all will help solve economic and social problems" but also will play a role in "strengthening peace and security in the region".
Up to a million barrels a day will eventually be heading directly west, gushing underneath miles of rugged terrain.
However, it will take several months merely to fill the pipeline, which has a capacity of 10 million barrels.
The oil in the pipeline will initially come entirely from Azerbaijani fields, but Kazakhstan is expected to participate in the project before the end of the decade.
Thanks to `JP` for the alert.
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