ISTANBUL - President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said on Tuesday that ''Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline tale,'' as voiced by Azerbaijani President Haydar Aliyev in Istanbul last year, was on the way of coming true.
''It is our concrete target to see the loading of the first tanker which will transport the Caspian oil to Ceyhan in the first half of 2005,'' said Sezer in his opening speech in the ''Tale of Three Seas:Energy Conference'' which started in Istanbul the same day.
President Sezer said in the conference which is organized by Foreign Economic Relations Council (DEIK), and Cambridge Energy Research Associate that the new cooperation process which started in the region in the field of energy had gained an irreversible character.
Sezer noted that the issue of transporting the Caspian oil and natural gas to Western markets via Turkey was discussed for a long time, adding ''but I would like to state with pleasure that this year, we are on a more different platform and on a more advanced level, because the positive results of the energy strategy that was developed since 1994 started to be seen.''
Recalling that Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan crude oil pipeline which constituted the main part of East-West energy corridor and which was considered as a dream by certain circles, has come to the point of construction, Sezer said that the studies of Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline company, which was founded by companies which supported the project, continued without any interruption.
Sezer emphasized that the decision of some Italian, French, American and Japanese firms, which were working in Kazakhstan, to participate in Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline initiative was an appropriate alternative.
Recalling that construction step had started in September 2002 in Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, Sezer said that the foundation laying ceremony of the pipeline was a meaningful step which would change the history of whole Caspian basin.
Noting that construction of the pipeline started in each three countries in recent months and this step could not be reached without courageous and conscious attitudes of all firms that were contributing and supporting this project, Sezer said that he appreciated the constructive efforts of those firms.
Sezer said that their concrete target was to load the first tanker which would carry Caspian oil in the first part of 2005. He added that he hoped that they would meet in another ceremony which would be held for the same target in Ceyhan in a period less than two years.
Noting that it was on the agenda to name the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline project as Aktau-Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan with the participation of Kazakhstan, Sezer said, ''I would like to emphasize that it is not a dream and this step will make another tale a reality.''
''President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan and I found the opportunity to express once again the unity of understanding on those issues which exists between the two countries during our meetings in Ankara last month. Determination of regional countries and support at international level give us hope to put into practice the project,'' he noted.
Sezer said that allegations which some circles made on Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline project and agreements which were signed to put into practice this project were baseless and noted that expressing some of those claims on production and transportation of oil within the context of developments after the Iraqi war was interesting.
Stating that Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan company carried out very important studies in protection of people and environment during the installation of pipelines, Sezer added, ''all details from natural protection areas in Eastern Anatolia region to biological atmosphere on the coast of Ceyhan are taken into consideration with those studies. Undoubtedly, Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline will be a model project.''
(Öª-GC-EÖ) 10.06.2003