The pipeline, from Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan to southern Israel, would also carry electricity and fibre optic cables, Guler said after talks with Israel's infrastructure minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer.
"Preliminary feasibility studies on the project are complete," Guler told the Anatolia news agency.
"Now experts from Turkey and Israel will meet for a technical evaluation of the project," he said, adding that there would be a study on the pipeline's investment and operational costs.
Guler said Turkey was holding talks with Russia to supply the natural gas to be delivered through the planned conduit, with Turkmen, Iraqi, and Azeri gas as other options.
Turkey already receives Azeri crude through a $4-billion pipeline from Baku to Ceyhan to supply Western markets.
Counting on its strategic location at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, Turkey is vying to become a regional energy hub between Western consumers and the natural gas and oil producers of the Caspian and the Middle East.
© 2007 Agence France-Presse

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