Russia has presented Turkey a draft intergovernmental agreement on the Samsun-Ceyhan pipeline project offering oil supplies of 25 million tons per year, well below the initial capacity of 60-70 million tons, Deputy Energy Minister Anatoly Yanovsky said on Thursday.
"There was a meeting on September 24, where we gave the draft intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in building the pipeline to our colleagues," Yanovsky said. "The draft includes obligations of Russian oil companies to deliver 25 million tons of oil by the pipeline and the Turkish side's obligations to provide a favorable regime for construction of the pipeline."
In 2009, Russia's top oil firm Rosneft, oil pipeline monopoly Transneft, Sovcomflot shipping firm, Turkey's Calik group and Italy's Eni signed an agreement to participate in the Samsun-Ceyhan pipeline project, meant to carry oil from the Turkish port of Samsun on the Black Sea to a Mediterranean terminal in Ceyhan and ease tanker traffic burden in the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles straits.
In September, Transneft head Nikolai Tokarev complained that Turkey was offering Russia unfavorable terms for the project.
NARYAN-MAR, September 30 (RIA Novosti)
