AZERBAIJAN - Feb. 9 - Chevron Wants To Help In Baku-Ceyhan P/L.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry says it has received a letter from Chevron offering to participate in the Baku-Ceyhan crude oil pipeline project. In its letter the US major says it has started talks with state-owned Socar on its plan to take part in the pipeline's engineering and construction. A Chevron spokesman confirms that talks are under way. (Government officials in Turkey and oil industry executives say three other international companies are close to joining the Western consortium set up to build the pipeline. The deadline for deciding is the end of Feb.). The Turkish PM's office says: "This development shows that those left outside the consortium have accepted that this project is commercially and economically viable". (The pipeline is backed by the US government as a means of bypassing Russia and Iran to get Caspian oil to Western markets. It should run about 1,600 km from Baku through Georgia to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean. The eight members of the consortium, led by BP Amoco, expect to announce the results of a $26m engineering study in May. If the prospects look good, the consortium will begin a 12-month detailed study and seek financing for the project. Construction would begin in 2002 and take 32 months. The companies could still decide that the project is too extensive if cost estimates far exceed an initial forecast of $2.4 bn to $2.5 bn. Along with sharing the cost of the pipeline, Chevron's participation could increase the possibility that the pipeline would carry oil from Kazakhstan. Chevron has been developing the Tengiz oilfield in Kazakhstan. Oil industry analysts, who doubt that Azerbaijan has enough oil to justify the cost of the pipeline, say it would become economically viable if it includes oil from Kazakhstan. But a Chevron spokesman in Baku says the company decided to participate in the pipeline as a potential means of moving oil from a new field it is exploring in Azerbaijan and that there was no link to the Kazakhstan oilfield. Other oil companies regard Chevron's decision as a positive development. The head of external affairs for BP Amoco in the Caspian region Mike Bilbo says: "We are delighted that such an important player as Chevron is interested in participating". The eight-member consortium controls 50% of the project and Socar controls the remaining 50%. Socar has agreed to sell part of its stake to new participants, and companies have been given until the end of Feb. to decide whether to sign on).