$3 billion oil pipeline from the Caspian Sea to a Turkish port

"The project is continuing quickly and will finish on time," Guler was quoted as saying by the semiofficial Anatolia news agency.

The 1,760-kilometer (1,090-mile) pipeline aims to bring Caspian crude to the West, reducing dependence on Middle Eastern oil.

The United States has strongly supported the route through Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey – considered a roundabout and expensive way – in large part because of strategic concerns. Shorter and cheaper routes for the pipeline would pass through Russia and Iran, giving those two countries heavy influence over the energy.

BP holds the largest stake in the project and is leading it.