Black Sea oil alternatives considered

May 6, 2010

Share MOSCOW, May 6 (UPI) — Two oil pipelines planned for Turkey could
clear congested Black Sea straits from oil tankers, a Russian-Turkish energy
commission speculates.

Russian advocates argue that congestion in the Bosporus and Dardanelles
straits are congested, creating delays in oil shipments by tanker.

A bilateral panel of Russian and Turkish delegates will examine the issue
next week, Russia’s state-run news agency RIA Novosti reports. The plans
include oil transits through the planned Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline
and the Samsun-Ceyhan, which is under construction.

An agreement between Russian and Greece envisions a 174-mile pipeline to
bypass crowded waterways near Turkey with an overland route to the Aegean
Sea. Turkey’s Samsun-Ceyhan route, meanwhile, is under construction.

Russia has no role in the Turkish project, though the memorandum of
understanding for the project outlines a possible future role.

Oil companies argue that tanker shipments are cheaper and less vulnerable to
geopolitics than pipelines. Advocates of the pipeline option say different
crude blends could travel through each of the overland options.

Russia already has plans to build the South Stream natural gas pipeline
through the Turkish waters of the Black Sea.