Wednesday, 5 August 2009
The Turkish energy minister said on Tuesday that Russia was interested in providing resources for Samsun-Ceyhan crude oil pipeline.
Turkey's Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz held a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Ivanovich Shmatko in the Turkish capital of Ankara, and said Russia was interested in providing oil and other resources for the Samsun-Ceyhan pipeline.
Samsun-Ceyhan pipeline is a crude oil pipeline between Black Sea oil terminal in Samsun and Mediterranean oil terminal in Ceyhan in Turkey. The aim of this project is to provide an alternative route for Russian and Kazakhstan's oil and to ease the traffic burden of the Istanbul and Canakkale Straits.
"We will sign a protocol to this end," Yildiz said before the Turkish-Russian Joint Economic Committee (JEC) meeting.
Yildiz said two countries would also sign a protocol on peaceful use of nuclear energy, and a memorandum of understanding between the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) and Rosneft, the integrated petroleum company owned by the Russian government.
The Turkish minister said that feasibility works would be carried out for the South Stream Project which would transport Russian natural gas to the Black Sea, Bulgaria and further to Italy and Austria, and they would later assess a partnership in the project and the use of territorial waters.
The South Stream project would partly replace the planned extension of Blue Stream from Turkey through Bulgaria and Serbia to Hungary and Austria, and is seen as rival to the planned Nabucco pipeline. The completion is due by 2015.
Also, Shmatko said that some Turkish companies including Aksa, Calik, Tetas, and Russian companies such as Rosneft, Gazprom and Interrau would sign deals on electricity, natural gas and oil.
