Eni, an Italian integrated energy company, has said that its CEO Paolo Scaroni met Turkey's energy minister Taner Yildiz and Russia’s deputy prime minister Igor Sechin, to discuss the further development of the Samsun-Ceyhan oil pipeline between Turkey's Black Sea coast and its Mediterranean coast, in Ankara.
The parties reviewed the progress of the project, the entry conditions of the Russian companies Rosneft and Transfnet and fixed further steps for the next future. They also recognized the role that Samsun-Ceyhan oil pipeline will play in reducing environmental impact and risks related to the transit of dozens of oil tankers in the Bosphorus.
The Samsun-Ceyhan oil pipeline will link Turkey’s Black Sea coast to the commercial hub of Ceyhan on its Mediterranean coast. Representatives of Eni, Turkey’s Calik Holding and Russia’s Transneft and Rosneft signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in October 2009 for the implementation of the project.
The project has been developed taking environmental issues into consideration and adopting measures which comply with the international safety standards. Furthermore, in order to cause minimal disturbance to the environment and existing infrastructure, the pipeline will be built along existing pipeline routes, the company said.
The company claims that the Samsun-Ceyhan pipeline will facilitate safer transport across the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits as well as reduce the impact on the region’s ecosystem.