Caspian oil pipeline reports first ever profit
MOSCOW, June 3 (Reuters) - The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CTC), pumping oil from Kazakhstan to Russia's Black Sea coast, reported on Tuesday it had recorded its first ever net profit in 2007 of $423 million after raising shipping fees.
The consortium, which has U.S. oil major Chevron (CVX.N) as the top private shareholder, did not give comparative figures.
Russia has a 24 percent stake in the consortium as a host state and has for years strictly opposed doubling its capacity from the current 700,000 barrels per day.
It criticises the project for low returns and argues that it would add pressure on the already congested Turkish straits.
The ban has prevented private shareholders to increase production in Kazakhstan.
Last year, they finally agreed to raise shipping fees to speed up repayment of credits and start profit distribution, a move seen speeding up talks with Russia on capacity enlargement.
Apart from Russia, Kazakhstan and Oman also own stakes. Private shareholders include BP Plc (BP.L), Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L), Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), Lukoil (LKOH.MM), Rosneft (ROSN.MM) and Chevron. (Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov; editing by James Jukwey)
