BTC oil to be sold to Far East through Israel

He didn't offer details of which route or how much oil is planned to be transported to the Far East. He also noted that there is another plan to carry natural gas from Ceyhan to Israel by either a pipeline beneath the Mediterranean or by LNG tankers.

Capanoglu was addressing the International Oil and Natural Gas Conference in Ankara Thursday. He claimed that if the BTC pipeline is utilized at its full capacity, the eastern Mediterranean would be the transport site of 120-130 million tons of oil per year.

"BOTAS will contribute to world's energy supply safety by providing serious extensions in the EU's resource diversification policies via pipeline projects directed to Europe by increasing consumer options and competition and by creating extra income opportunities for its neighboring countries," he said.

Ahmet Faruk Oner, director of the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) Research Group, talked about TPAO's activities in the Mediterranean and their intention to farm out oil fields to any interested companies in a speech at the same conference. He noted that there are always technical, economic and political risks in oil exploration but at the moment the risks regarding the eastern Mediterranean are political rather than economic or technical.

Oner said they are closely tracking developments in Lebanon and Syria and are evaluating any information coming from these regions. Their interest in the region is at the highest level, Oner stated. Today's Zaman