"Discussions are currently underway about whether to delay the start of the project, and a decision could be made this week or next," the spokesman said.
The Beineu-Bozoi pipeline is expected to then continue on to Akbulak, where it will link up with a hub for several existing pipelines, including the 30 billion cubic meter/year Kazakhstan-China line.
The planned 10 Bcm/year Beineu-Bozoi-Akbulak pipeline will be 1,500 km and is forecast to cost around $3 billion.
In June, it was reported that the project would receive $500 million in financing from China National Petroleum Corp. and $500 million from Kazakh state-owned KazMunaiGaz, with the remaining $2 billion to be provided by a Chinese bank.
Analysts said a delay to Beineu-Bozoi could lead to a domino effect for the entire route, which is supposed to be completed by 2012.
"Delays to the Beineu-Bozoi pipeline are likely to postpone the Bozoi-Akbulak pipeline as well," Russian investment bank Renaissance Capital said Tuesday in a research note.
On Monday, deputy Kazakh oil and gas minister Aset Magauov said the project could be delayed due to questions about gas supplies, local media reported.
"There are risks that the project may not start this year because we need to quickly find different resources and incorporate gas resources from other West Caspian fields," Magauov said, according to the media reports.
Magauov said the pipeline originally expected to receive gas from the Zhanazhol field operated by CNPC-AktobeMunaigaz, a Chinese-Kazakh joint venture in which CNPC owns an 85% stake.
China Chemical Weekly: http://news.chemnet.com/en/detail-1411716.html
