The Caspian Pipeline Consortium expects to complete construction work on phase one of the expansion of the line which carries crude from Kazakhstan to the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiisk in October 2014, CPC said in a statement Friday.
In late October an official with Russia's state-owned pipeline operator Transneft said phase one was likely to be delayed by around one year. CPC has already delayed the completion date several times, which most recently had been estimated at mid-2013.
Consortium representatives have cited issues with construction of essential equipment on the Kazakh section of the pipeline as the cause of delays.
"In Kazakhstan work on the first phase is scheduled for completion next October," said the statement, which was released after a meeting with Kazakh Oil and Gas Minister Uzakbai Karabalin.
Construction of Russian infrastructure included in phase one of the expansion is due to be fully completed in mid-December, the statement said, citing CPC General Director Nikolai Brunich.
By early February the consortium expects to have completed signing all the necessary documentation to launch the new equipment, CPC said.
The company added that it expects the system to be ready to receive crude from the giant Kashagan field in Kazakhstan in May, following discussion of the pace of work during the meeting.
"By May 2014, CPC will be ready to take crude from Kashagan through its reserve capacity, as well as increase the limit of crude which can be received at the Tengiz pumping station," the statement said.
Transneft said earlier the system would be ready to receive Kashagan crude in early 2014.
Kashagan was officially launched on September 11, but has subsequently been shut in. Project operator NCOC has declined to provide a date for relaunch, but is currently carrying out tests on sections of pipeline included in the project. Analysts have said that production at Kashagan may be resumed sometime next year.
CPC currently pumps around 33 million-34 million mt/year via the route due to the use of drag-reduction agents.
The full modernization program envisages a further two stages of expansion to installed capacity, eventually increasing the route to 67 million mt/year.
CPC's shareholders include Russian pipeline operator Transneft (31%); Kazakhstan's KazMunaiGaz (20.75%); Chevron (15%); Lukarco (12.5%); ExxonMobil (7.5%); the Rosneft-Shell Caspian Ventures joint venture (7.5%); the UK's BG (2%); Italy's Eni (2%); and Oryx Caspian Pipeline (1.75%).
