Turkey’s Energy Minister Hilmi Guler said yesterday that Poland was interested in energy cooperation and was considering buying from energy pipelines that will cut through Turkey. Poland is considering meeting some of its energy needs through the Nabucco natural gas pipeline project, which will pump Central Asian gas via Turkey to Austria, and Turkey’s Samsun-Ceyhan oil pipeline project, said Hilmi Guler after meeting the president of Poland’s Parliament.
The Nabucco, supported by the European Union, is designed to increase Europe’s access to alternative sources of natural gas and oil.
“Technicians will begin work on the Nabucco and Samsun-Ceyhan pipelines to appraise what they can do. Then it will pass the preparation phase,” said Guler.
Faith in Nabucco waned as Russia has pushed to export more of its gas westward, but the project has seen renewed support in recent months.
Ankara also plans to construct a pipeline through Turkey to transport oil from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. Russia is not supportive of this oil pipeline project that will deliver Caspian oil to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. Turkey’s Calik Enerji and Italian ENI are working together on the north-south pipeline.
Guler said Poland might work with Turkey regarding other projects involving nuclear energy, petrol and natural gas. “We will announce concrete steps towards construction of this (Nabucco) line when we return to Poland,” said Guler.
(Kathimerini, 7/7/06)