Deputy general director of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium's projects decorated with Order of Friend

A ceremony to award the Order of Friendship to deputy general director of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium's projects and vice-president of the Chevron Texaco Overseas Petroleum corporation Dan Nelson took place in the residence of the Russian consul general in San Francisco.

The decree on his decoration was signed by Russian president Vladimir Putin.

The Consortium was created in 1992. The pipeline (1,496 km) has been already commissioned, and oil is being delivered from the Tenghiz (Kazakhstan) deposit to the port of Novorossiisk and then exported. At the present time, this is the only oil pipeline for delivering the Caspian oil to the European market. It is not working at full capacity but ensures the throughput capacity of 500,000 barrels a day. When the planned capacity is reached in 2015 it will pump up to 1.4 million barrels a day.

Fifteen percent of the Consortium property belongs to the Chevron Texaco Overseas Petroleum company. Among other owners are Russia (24 percent), Kazakhstan (19 percent), Oman (7 percent), the Luk Arco company (12.5 percent), Rosneft-Shell joint companies (7.5 percent), Kazakh oil-Omoko (7.5 percent) and others. American companies Chevron Texaco Overseas Petroleum, Exxon Mobil and others invested a half of the capital in the project - 2.6 billion dollars.

It was pointed out during the ceremony that the Order was being awarded "for a great contribution to the construction and commissioning of the oil pipeline and to the development and strengthening of international ties." Consul general of the Russian Federation in San Francisco Viktor Lizun handed over the Order to Nelson. Taking part in the ceremony were representative of the Russian trade mission in San Francisco Alexei Yegortsev, president of Chevron Texaco Overseas Petroleum George Kirkland , businessmen of the US western coast, Mayor of San Francisco Willy Brown and representative of the US State Department Leroy Dalporto.