Azerbaijan, Baku / corr Trend S.Aliyev /
The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline
The BP-operated BTC is used for the transportation of the light oil produced from the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli fields. The only two foreign participants in the project of the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli field development, the US companies ExxonMobil and Devon deliver their oil via the BTC. These companies were not the investors in the BTC construction and sell their oil via the Georgian port of Batumi, supplied by the railway.
The total length of BТС is 1.768km, including 443km-seion running via Azerbaijan, 249km section via Georgia and1.076km via Turkey. The pumping capacity of the pipeline is over 50mln tons of oil (1mln barrels of oil a day). Next year the discharge capacity will expanded to 1.2mln barrels of oil a day, at the expense of pumping the chemical reagents.
The construction of pipeline was commenced in April 2003 and it was fulfilled with oil on 18 May 2005. The oil reached the Georgian section of the oil pipeline on 10 August 2005, the Turkish section on 18 November 2005, the Ceyhan terminal on 28 May 2006.
A total of $4bln has been spent for the construction of the BTC 1,768km pipeline. This sum does not include the fulfillment of the pipeline, financial expenses and payment of the bank rates. The credit allocated for the project totalled $2.6bln.
The BTC Co. shareholders are: BP (30.1%); AzBTC (25.00%); Chevron (8.90%); Statoil (8.71%); TPAO (6.53%); ENI (5.00%); Total (5.00%); Itochu (3.40%); INPEX (2.50%); ConocoPhillips (2.50%) and Hess (2.36%).
Status of the project
From January to November of 2007, the Baku-Tbilisi -Ceyhan pipeline exported 24.9mln tons of the oil, as compared to 6.35mln tons for the same period in 2006. Some 6mln tons of the oil of the total, is the share of the SOCAR only.
The Baku-Supsa pipeline
This year oil was not pumped via the Baku-Supsa due to the technical problems in the pipeline, which was revealed at the end of last year. The pipeline is run by the Azerbaijan International Operating Company (under ВР operation). The pipeline is expected to function by March 2008. At present, the construction of the by-passing section in the territory of Georgia (Zestafani) with the length of 1km is under way. The by-passing section is needed due to the danger of landslide.
Status of the project
From January to November 2006, some 5.616mln tons of oil was transported via this route. The 827km long Baku-Supsa oil pipeline is capable of delivering over 6mln tons of the oil a year.
The Baku - Novorossiysk pipeline
The Baku-Novorossiysk Pipeline is mainly used for the transportation of the oil produced by the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), as well as the crude lifted by the joint ventures and the operating companies with the foreign participation, in the onshore fields. The pipeline is presently operated by BP, whilst the SOCAR is eager to undertake operator ship at the Baku-Novorossiysk, following the refusal by BP for the oil pumping from fields of the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli via this route and the re-direction of the entire volume of the light oil (excluding ExxonMobil and Devon) to the BTC. The 800km-long Baku - Novorossiysk pipeline is capable of pumping over 5mln tons of oil a year.
Status of the project
From January to November 2007, some 1.146mln has been delivered via the Baku-Novorossiysk northern oil pipeline by the SOCAR. From January to November, the Azerbaijan International Operating Company (AIOC) exported 856,303 tons of oil, as compared to 2.883mln for the same period in 2006.
The Baku-Tbilisi-Erzerum gas pipeline
The length of the Baku - Tbilisi - Erzerum pipeline ( South Caucasus gas pipeline) is over 700km. The pumping capacity of the pipeline is over 20bln cu m of gas a year. This gas pipeline is used for the transportation of gas produced from the Shah Deniz field, in the Azerbaijanis section of the Caspian Sea. The fuel is transported to Georgia and Turkey. Azerbaijan also acts as a gas purchaser.
Status of the project
At present, the part of the total 16mln cu m of the gas is delivered to Turkey, Georgia and the pumping stations of the Baku-Tbilisi - Ceyhan oil pipeline, and the part is sold to Azerbaijan from the Sangachal terminal of BP company.
The Baku - Batumi railway route
The AIOC began transporting its oil produced from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli fields via the Baku-Batumi pipeline in June 2005. The necessity for the use of this route evolved in connection with the commencement and development of the Azeri field and the sharp increase in the volume of production. The oil delivered via this route is shipped in the Sangachal terminal and supplied to the Georgian Black Sea port in Batumi.
Status of the project
According to the Azerbaijan International Operating Company (AIOC), from January to November 2007 some 985,668 million tons of oil was loaded in the direction of the Batumi port as compared to 3.87 million tons of oil for the same period in 2006. The SOCAR exported 221,300 tons of oil via this route.