"We will soon start meeting with Greek and Bulgarian representatives on the project," Baktykozha Izmukhambetov told parliament in a reference to the pipeline, which will pump Russian oil onto global markets bypassing the congested Bosporus Strait.
Russia, Greece and Bulgaria signed the deal on the 1-billion-euro project in mid-March, and the construction is expected to begin in 2008.
Kazakhstan presently exports its Caspian oil to Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiisk via the Caspian pipeline, commissioned in October 2001. The pipeline pumps 30 million metric tons (220 million bbl) a year, but Kazakhstan is seeking to expand the system's capacity to 40 million tons. Joining the Balkan pipeline at the invitation of Russia will allow the Central Asian country to export oil from Novorossiisk further to Europe.
Kazakhstan's energy minister also said the Russian and Kazakh leaders agreed last week that the Caspian pipeline would be extended in parallel with the Burgas-Alexandropoulis project.
