Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 2
By Maksim Tsurkov - Trend:
The SOCAR company has completed pumping of volumes of its own oil envisaged for 2015 via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, a source in the SOCAR company told Trend Oct.2.
The matter rests in volumes of about 300,000 tons, transportation of which was previously provided via the northern route (Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline), according to the source. The pipeline transports oil produced by SOCAR independently, as well as the oil from the onshore fields developed within the framework of joint ventures.
In connection with the repair work on the Baku refineries, oil pumping via Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline was suspended in June 2015, and the oil was redirected to the BTC.
"Pumping of volumes of SOCAR's oil via BTC provided for 2015 has already been ensured," said the source. "Future plans for the volume of oil and the mode of these operations for 2016 will be reflected in the new annual schedule."
At present, the BTC pipeline transports oil from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli block of Azerbaijani oil and gas fields, as well as oil of producers from Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.
The total length of the BТС is 1,768 kilometers including a 443 kilometer-long section running through Azerbaijan, a 249-kilometer long section in Georgia and a 1,076-kilometer long section in Turkey. The construction of the pipeline started in April 2003. It was filled with oil on May 18, 2005.
BTC Co. shareholders are: BP (30.1 percent), AzBTC (25 percent), Chevron (8.9 percent), Statoil (8.71 percent), ТРАО (6.53 percent), Eni (5 percent), Total (5 percent), as well as Itochu (3.4 percent), Inpex (2.5 percent), ConocoPhillips (2.5 percent) and ONGC (2.36 percent).
Follow the author on Twitter: @MaksimTsurkov