REQUEST FOR U.S. REPRESENTATION AT JUNE 6-9

UNCLAS BAKU 000454 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/CARC AND EB/ESC DEPT OF ENERGY FOR FE - SWIFT AND OS - WILLIAMSON E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL EPET ENRG ECON AJ SUBJECT: REQUEST FOR U.S. REPRESENTATION AT JUNE 6-9 CASPIAN OIL AND GAS SHOW REF: BAKU 319 ¶1. The Thirteenth Annual Caspian Oil and Gas Show (COGS) will be held on June 6-9, 2006, here in Baku. COGS has traditionally been the largest oil and gas show in the region, attracting thousands of attendees. COGS 2005 hosted 331 exhibitors from 29 countries including a dozen major U.S. firms and 6,009 registered visitors. Similar numbers are expected to attend this year. The Charge d'Affaires will host a joint reception with the British Ambassador on the night of Tuesday June 6. Per reftel, we have already requested permission to solicit funds for this event from American energy sector companies here. ¶2. COGS 2006 will be the prelude to the ceremonies surrounding the expected first lifting of oil delivered by the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan pipeline (BTC) in Turkey at the end of the month. It is also an opportunity to signal our continued interest in Caspian energy beyond the BTC and South Caucasus natural gas pipeline projects. Azerbaijan is currently in negotiations with Kazakhstan to bring large volumes of Kazakhstani oil across the Caspian and to international markets via BTC. New discoveries in the offshore Shah Deniz natural gas field hold out the possibility of Azerbaijan playing a major role as a natural gas exporter to Europe. Other projects to bring Central Asian oil and gas across the Caspian are also possible. COGS 2006 gives us an excellent opportunity to stress our continued public commitment to the East-West Energy Corridor beyond BTC and SCP completion, and to privately urge the GOAJ to move ahead with these important new energy projects. ¶3. In the past, Ambassador Steven Mann or his predecessors have served as the senior U.S. representative at COGS; Deputy Assistant Secretary of Energy Judd Swift has also layed this role. The senior U.S. representative as traditionally read aloud a message from the President. I request that an Assistant Secretary from the Department of Energy, DAS Swift or someone of equivalent rank be designated senior U.S. representative and attend COGS 2006. We will submit a draft text for the presidential message via septel. HARNISH