Turkish, Israeli, Indian ministers to meet for Med Stream project

India is interested in the project to import oil from the line through the Red Sea with loading tankers from an Israeli port. The project is estimated to cost around 8 billion euros.

"The highest amount of cargo allowed to pass from the Turkish Straits is set as 130,000 tons, while ships carrying 400,000 tons of cargo can come to the Ceyhan Port in southern Turkey," Guler, who is currently accompanying Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan in India, told reporters.

India is interested in the project as the pipeline would be short and economical for transportation and that the country would get the better of time and cost as soon as the project is implemented.

"On the other hand, it takes 39 days for a ship to arrive in the Red Sea after passing from the Turkish Straits, and only 16 days from Ceyhan to India. These are significant advantages for India," Guler added.

Normally, crude is shipped to the Far East in 50 days, but when the Med Stream is completed, transportation of crude from the Red Sea would take just 19 days.

He said he would meet his Israeli and Indian counterparts in the coming days to talk about the Ceyhan-Red Sea oil pipeline project.

Feasibility studies of the pipeline are planned to begin by the end of this year and are expected to be completed in the summer of 2009. Construction of the pipeline is planned to start no later than early 2010.

Guler also said the Indian oil company had been cooperating with the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) in Libya, and that similar cooperation should be made in other countries.