TURKISH Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has said that Turkey would welcome a Russian spur added to the BP-led Caspian Sea crude oil pipeline project that terminates in the southern Turkish port of Ceyhan.
“It would be pleasing for Russian petroleum to be added to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline. Its capacity already allows for this,” Gul said.
One Turkish pipeline official said that Russian and Georgian governments were already in negotiations for the construction of a pipeline that could be linked to the Baku-Ceyhan route. Turkey hopes the $3 billion BTC project will eventually carry crude from Kazakhstan’s huge Kashagan oilfield.
The 1,760-km pipeline will have a capacity of 1m. brl/d and is to become operational in April, 2005. Turkey expects an annual $200-$300million in transit fees from the pipeline.
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