Energy minister says Turkey earned $2 bln by BTC

"Now, the next projects are Samsun-Ceyhan and Nabucco pipelines," Guler said in Ceyhan, Turkey's energy hub, Anatolian Agency reported. Guler said 378 million barrels of Azerbaijani oil was sent to global markets so far.

 

"We are proud to realize a project which was seen as a dream. Now, the next projects are Samsun-Ceyhan and Nabucco pipelines. We had talks with Austrian President two days ago. Next month, we will make clear severalÂmatters, such as the amount and the rates (regarding Nabucco project)," Guler also said.

 

Turkish and Austrian ministers and presidents discussed the Nabucco project in separate meetings last week. Turkey's natural gas supply security, the shape of the Nabucco project, amounts and a timetable for the project discussed between Guler and the Austrian minister.

After discussions, Guler said, Turkey's efforts for the project would be stepped up as the as the Austrian minister noted the first gas is expected to be pumped in 2012 or 2013.

 

The Nabucco project is a planned 3,300 kilometers natural gas pipeline that will carry gas from Turkey to Austria, via Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary. However rising costs and uncertainties over supply sources are seen as the most important challenges in the project. The project, with a planned maximum capacity of 31 billion cubic meters per year, is estimated to cost around 4.6 billion euros ($5.8 billion).

 

The Nabucco pipeline will run from Erzurum in Turkey to Baumgarten an der March, a major natural gas hub in Austria. This pipeline is an alternative to the current projects developed to import natural gas from Russia. It will be connected with the Tabriz-Erzurum pipeline, and with the South Caucasus Pipeline, linking Nabucco Pipeline with the planned Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline.

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The project is being developed by the Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH, established in 2004 in Vienna. The shareholders of the company are Austrian OMV, Hungarian MOL, Romanian Transgaz, Bulgarian Bulgargaz and Turkish BOTAS. German energy giant RWE became the project’s sixth partner in 2008.

 

The Samsun-Ceyhan pipeline planned to be completed in two years, will carry 50.70 million tons of oil via a 550km long pipeline from Central Asia and the Caspian Basin to the Mediterranean across Turkey. The cost of the project is estimated at a cost of $1.5 billion.