Italy, Russia and Turkey signed an agreement Monday for the construction of a pipeline that will carry crude oil from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean port of Ceyahn, the Italian oil company Eni said in a statement. The Samsun-Ceyhan project “underlines (a) joint commitment to enhance energy security,” Eni said. The pipeline, which will be built by Eni and Turkey's Calik Enerji, will carry Russian and Kazakh oil and provide an alternative route to the congested Bosporus strait. It is part of a project to transform Turkey into a global energy corridor. Eni and Calik also signed an MoU with OAO Transneft and OAO Rosneft on the participation of Russian companies. The accord was signed by Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin and Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko, Turkey's Energy Minister Taner Yildiz and Italy's Economic Development Minister Claudio Scajola.
