Nov. 26 - Following the failure of the Turkey-Iran-Pakistan-India oil and gas pipeline due to security and cost pressures, visiting Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested Turkey could ship oil and gas to India via Israel. The proposed route, through the red sea, will avoid the over- crowded Suez Canal and the longer route around the Cape of Good Hope.
According to the new plan,Turkey would supply India with not only oil and gas but also water, electricity and fiber optic cables. The project is expected to cost over US$10 billion (Rs.496 billion).
Energy abundant Turkey and India plan to increase bilateral trade to US$6 billion by 2010 from the current US$2.6 billion.
"To meet India’s growing energy requirements, we are ready to ship oil and gas via Israel. We are planning an undersea pipeline between Turkey and Israel through the Mediterranean Sea. Supertankers will be able to carry the supplies to India over the high seas from the Ashkelong port in Israel,” Erdogan told the IANS at business meeting. Petroleum and energy ministers of India, Israel and Turkey are likely to meet in Istanbul in the next two months to work out the modalities, including quantum of supply, pricing and logistics.
India is heavily dependant on oil imports, and fears instability in the Middle East which could lead to disruption of oil supplies. The country is spending billions on exploration and production of domestic oil.
