Turkish pride: the planned pipeline will avoid the congested Bosphorus
IOCL joins Samsun-Ceyhan pipe
Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) is set to join Turkey's Calik Energy and Italy's Eni in a project to build the Samsun-Ceyhan oil pipeline.
The pipeline, estimated to cost $1.5 billion, will carry oil between Samsun on the Black Sea and the Mediterrranean port of Ceyhan, bypassing the congested Turkish straits. Shell has also signed a deal to join the project.
The pipeline, estimated to cost $1.5 billion, will carry oil between Samsun on the Black Sea and the Mediterrranean port of Ceyhan, bypassing the congested Turkish straits. Shell has also signed a deal to join the project.
"Eni and Calik Energy have signed an agreement with IOCL on its probable participation...in the Trans Anatolian Pipeline Project," the companies said in a joint statement.
The pipeline will initially have a capacity of 1 million barrels per day, with plans for it to rise to 1.5 million bpd.
Turkey chose Calik to build the 550 kilometre pipeline in April and gave the company and its partner Eni six months to complete its engineering and design studies. The pipeline will pump 75 million tonnes (551.2 million barrels) of oil per year.
Delays at the Turkish straits have added to shipping costs for exports of Urals blend crude from Black Sea ports. When weather is bad, ships can be delayed for weeks.