Economic expediency of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) is obvious and there is no doubt in this respect.
Oktay Hagverdiyev, the head of the Price Economy and Monetary Policy Department of the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan, said that some figures indicate that direct export of oil via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline to the Mediterranean Sea will provide for 40%-drop in transport expenses in the deliver of one ton of oil as compared to crude supplies via the Black Sea.
The project will enable Azerbaijan to export big oil volumes directly to the Mediterranean Sea in exchange to some 10 million tons of oil a year, that the country pumps via two pipelines the Baku-Supsa and Baku-Novorossiysk - to the Black Sea, he noted.
Joining of other countries to BTC requires definite time and from the aspect of economy and geo-politics it would be profitable for all sides, Hagverdiyev said. It will enable to establish closer partnership relationships with neighboring, he said.
The discharge capacity of BTC is 50 million tons of oil with the possible expansion up to 70-75 million tons at the expense of increase of quality of pump stations and chemical reagents.