The
BTC alone will not be
able to transport all of the crude expected to be produced in the
Caspian in the coming
years to European and world markets. According to the International
Energy Agency, the region will export 120 million mt of oil in 2010
and 200 million mt in 2020.
This, according to Engur, is where the 1 million b/d
Samsun-Ceyhan pipeline
comes in. "The Samsun-Ceyhan pipeline will provide easier and less
risky traffic not only in the Turkish Straits, but in the Thrace
region and Aegean Sea also," he says.
"Running parallel to the BTC from Sivas to Ceyhan is also
advantageous for Samsun-Ceyhan because it uses the existing right of
way, which will decrease land expropriation, construction, operation
and maintenance costs."
Although not yet definite, it seems likely that the Samsun-Ceyhan
pipeline will be built by a joint venture between Italy's Eni and
the Turkish Calik group.
Ceyhan itself stands to become a terminal of strategic
importance. "With its advantageous position of linking oil sources
directly to a considerable oil market - the Mediterranean - and to
other important oil markets, the Ceyhan terminal will be very
effective in contributing to global oil trade." Ceyhan could also be
the location for a planned LNG liquefaction plant, Engur says.
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