The Hindu Business Line : IOC eyeing cross-country pipeline projects in Turkey

HAVING bid to acquire a 51-per cent stake in the state-run Tupras refinery in Turkey, Indian Oil Corporation is keeping a close watch on the emerging opportunities for participation in cross-country pipeline projects in Turkey.

Company sources said a number of pipeline projects are likely to come up in the region in the near future to link the oil-rich land-locked CIS countries to the Black Sea or the Mediterranean Sea.

One of these, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, covering a distance of 1,760 km from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli oil field in the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, will start functioning soon. This will be the second longest oil pipeline in the world, carrying 50 million tonnes of crude oil, connecting Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan; Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia; and Ceyhan, a port on the south-eastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey.

Mr Naresh K. Nayyar, Director (business development) of IOC, confirmed to Business Line the company's interests in pipeline projects. "We are aware of the emerging opportunities in the pipeline sector in Turkey. However, as on date, we are concentrating on acquiring a majority stake in Tupras." Acquiring control over Tupras will throw open opportunities for IOC's entry in petro-products retailing sector in the country.

The $6-billion Tupras has four refineries with a combined capacity of 28 million tonnes.

IOC, along with 12 to 13 other international players, has already been shortlisted for placing the final bid latest by September 2.

The company is currently in the process of forming a 50:50 joint venture with a local partner for participating in the project.

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