Odesa-Brody: The Transatlantic Dimension

“This is quite an intriguing opportunity,” Special Advisor to the US State Secretary for Diplomacy in the Energy Sector in the Caspian Region Steven Mann said on the project to transport Caspian oil to the European countries via Odesa-Brody pipeline. Ambassador Mann came to Kyiv to meet Prime Minister Anatoly Kinakh and the leaders of the Ukrtransnafta (Ukrainian Oil Transport) Company. At the round table at the Ukrainian Razumkov Center for Economic and Political Research he said that he was not ready to name American companies to participate in creating an international consortium to exploit the Odesa-Brody pipeline. However, he did state that he will encourage them to do so. Thus, US diplomacy’s interest in a Ukrainian road for Caspian oil has been displayed for the first time in a serious way and seemingly for the long haul.

The question of why the US is so active in the Caspian region is neither new nor hard to answer. Washington is thoroughly drawing up its maximum presence in strategic regions, especially those possessing strategic supplies of energy resources. It is known from history how seriously the US protects the interests of the American and transnational companies throughout the world. Oil and gas supplies in the Caspian region are a strategic issue for both Europe and America’s NATO allies, Mr. Mann said. US support for the Odesa- Brody project, according to the American diplomat (at present technical and economical grounds for the project conducted with the US support are being worked out), will contribute to Ukraine’s development as a European state. At the same time, Mr. Mann and other US representatives note that the United States will support this project only if there is broad involvement of private capital. In fact, the same has been said for the last few years by representatives of Poland, where the Caspian oil was initially supposed to go, and Azerbaijan, where this oil is pumped from. It is just that now the project has gained weighty political support, and it looks like it is the US that lobbies for it in the European Union. Perhaps precisely this fact explains the significantly increased interest in the Odesa- Brody project from Poland and other countries neighboring Ukraine.

Ambassador Mann repeatedly observed that the Odesa-Brody project is not a rival to the Baku- Ceyhan project, since this route is undoubtedly the optimal one for supplying Caspian oil to the West. These projects are aimed on different markets, the Americans claim. Mr. Mann believes that political risks for implementing the Baku-Ceyhan project (the Turkey road) are rather low. Moreover, Ukraine could take part in the tenders for pipes and equipment delivery for constructing this pipeline, which is to begin this summer. Though giving no direct answer to the question about the chances for the Ukrainian producers to win this tender, the American diplomat wished them good luck.

However, one could get an impression that the declarations of good relations and strategic partnership between Ukraine and the United States have finally been complimented with their first serving of concrete actions. And from now on Caspian oil should be considered exclusively in the transatlantic dimension, due to which Ukraine could get a chance to obtain considerable profit, not to mention a practical solution to the problem of the Russian monopoly.