US embassy cable - 03ANKARA4224

UNCLAS ANKARA 004224 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
 
DEPT FOR E, EB, NEA/NGA, EUR/SE 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EPET, ENRG, PREL, TU, IZ 
SUBJECT: BOTAS READY TO RESUME PIPELINE OPERATIONS; WAITING 
FOR SOMO 
 
REF: ANKARA 3628 
 
 
 
 
1. (U) Baghdad minimize considered. 
 
 
2. (SBU) BOTAS General Manager Mehmet Bilgic told econoff 
July 3 that the storage tanks at Ceyhan, which store Iraqi 
crude from the Kirkuk-Yumurtalik line, were nearly empty. 
The only remaining oil in the storage tanks was bound for 
Turkey's Kirakkale refinery.  Bilgic said BOTAS was ready to 
resume operations of the Kirkuk-Yumurtalik pipeline, but was 
waiting to hear from SOMO on next steps. 
 
 
3. (SBU) Bilgic said he had had very useful meetings with 
SOMO/CPA officials when they traveled to Ceyhan June 22-23 to 
witness the first off-loading of crude onto tankers since the 
end of the war.  During those meetings, he had offered to 
send a BOTAS technical team to Iraq to help repair the 
pipeline and to help get the pipeline operating again as soon 
as possible.  Bilgic said he was still waiting to hear back 
from SOMO, and asked econoff to pass this message to Phillip 
Carroll's office in OCPA. 
PEARSON