NO OIL IN AZERBAIJAN

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Times possesses information confirming that already in November the consultant hired by the British Petroleum, Derek Mortimor presented to the corporation's management a report reading about serious violations. He said this was the first time in his 41-years experience that he saw such kind of things. In case if there is a leakage in the pipeline, the responsibility for the ecological catastrophe will lay also on the British government that sponsored the project's initiators.

We shall remind that the British government was doubting the expediency of the project understanding its dangerousness in the ecologic and human rights spheres. According to the State Minister Mike O'Brien, they thought however that in any case the project would be implemented and they participated in order to decrease the risks connected with it.

Meanwhile, the leaders of Non-governmental organizations were always against the project. 72 NGOs from 29 countries have always stated that participation of London does not mean that the operators will follow all the necessary standards. The forecasts came true.

The management of the British Petroleum tries to pretend as if nothing has happened. However, the company has to choose - or it has to admit that its representatives have ignored the safety norms in order to make it fall in price, or to continue denying the fact of serious technological abuses.

It is interesting that the scandal rose in the conditions when it is not known yet if Kazakhstan will agree to transport its oil via Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline. As it is known, the project is senseless without participation of the Kazakh side. It has been already stated that there are no big oil resources in Azerbaijan. Recently also Ukraine President Leonid Kuchma confirmed it: ''You go to Baku, talk with the analysts and you will know that there is no oil there and will never be,'' he said. This is a rather serious blow for Azerbaijan.