(MEBG) –Turkey’s state-owned Botas has invited applications by August 17 to prequalify for detailed engineering work on the Turkish section of a 1,730-km pipeline, which will carry one million barrels per day (bpd) of oil to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan from Baku, in Azerbaijan, via Georgia, reported MEED. The total cost of the project is estimated at $2,400 million-$2,700 million.
The Turkish section of the pipeline will be 42 inches in diameter and 1,037 km long.
The contract for basic engineering work, which will take about six months to complete, is being negotiated with Germany's Pipeline Engineering (PLE). Construction of the pipeline is expected to start in early 2002 and last 32 months.
The pipeline will carry oil produced by the BP Amoco-led Azerbaijan International Operating Company, which expects to increase production to 800,000 bpd by 2007-08 from its current level of 115,000 bpd.
The Turkish, Azerbaijan and Georgian authorities all ratified agreements in May and June that outline the legal framework for the project.
The pipeline is one of several major oil and gas transit projects planned to meet rising local energy demand.
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