Pipe plans: Calik Energy has said Mitsubishi is interested in taking a stake in the Samsun-Ceyhan pipe
Mitsubishi 'keen on Samsun pipe stake'
Turkey's Calik Energy is in talks with Mitsubishi after the Japanese company showed interest in taking part in the Samsun-Ceyhan oil pipeline project, Calik Holding boss Ahmet Calik told a news conference today.
A Reuters report added he was attending a ceremony marking the start of construction of the oil pipeline that will link Turkey's Black Sea and Mediterrenean coasts.
"We are talking to some firms for Samsun-Ceyhan. Mitsubishi wants to take part as an investor because it sees this is a profitable line," Calik said at a news conference.
At an estimated cost of $1.5 billion, the 550 kilometre pipeline will carry Kazakh and Azeri oil from the Turkish Black Sea port of Samsun to Ceyhan on the Mediterranean, bypassing the congested Turkish straits.
Indian Oil Corporation has joined the project, taking a 12.5% stake in the venture set up by Calik Energy and Italy's Eni. Shell is also a member of the project.
Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Guler was also present at the ceremony, which was postponed from last month after Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi was unable to attend.
The pipeline, scheduled for completion in 2009, will initially have a capacity of 1 million barrels per day, with plans for it to rise to 1.5 million bpd. Ceyhan is the terminal of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline.