PIpe job: for Turkey's Calik Enerji
Calik nets Ceyhan job
The Turkish government has chosen local company Calik Enerji to build the Samsun-Ceyhan pipeline, which will transport crude from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, officials said today.
All ministers have signed the decree naming Calik, which has co-operated with Italy's Eni on feasibility studies for the pipeline. The decree will be submitted to President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, the officials, who declined to be named, told Reuters.
The government gave six months to Calik-Eni to complete its engineering and design studies on the pipeline.
The decree has been on hold since January because several ministers refused to sign it as the project was to be awarded to a company without a tender being held.
The president's approval is required for final authorisation of the choice of the company for the pipeline, which will transport 50 million-70 million tonnes oil a year.
Delays at the Turkish straits have added to shipping costs for exports of Urals oil from Black Sea ports. When weather is bad, ships can be delayed at the passage for weeks.