Partners of the Samsun-Ceyhan project have decided to upgrade it, and Russia expects Turkish proposals, Russian Energy Minister Sergey Shmatko said on Friday, RIA Novosti reports.
Earlier reports said that the 11th session of the Russian-Turkish inter-government commission in Kazakh on march 4 held discussions of the pipeline project without announcements of decisions.
Russia and Italy were ready to sign agreements. However, Russia and Turkey decided to clarify a set of issues, the minister said.
Samsun-Ceyhan pipeline is planned to be constructed from the Samsun City to the Mediterranean port Ceyhan. It will pump 60-70 million tons of oil annually and will transport it by-passing the Bosporus and Dardanelles.
Russian companies Rosneft, Transneft and Sovkomflot, Turkish group Calik Holding and Italy’s Eni signed a deal in Milan in October 2009. The document includes exploitation of the Samsun-Ceyhan pipeline, transport, processing and joint sales of oil products. LUKOIL expressed interest in the project. The initial price of the project was $3 billion.
Russian Vice-Premier Igor Sechin in December that Russia and Turkey hope to agree on the price issue of the project until mid-March 2011.
