Azerbaijan, Baku, 20 September / Trend corr. E.Ismayilov/ "The Baku-Supsa oil pipeline will commence operation as soon as Georgia has submitted documents that it has checked its section of the pipeline, in particular checked presence of any explosives," President of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) Rovnag Abdullayev said on 20 September. In technical aspect, Baku-Supsa is completely ready to operate.
"Technically the pipeline is ready. Only several bureaucratic obstacles remained," Abdullayev said.
ВР stopped export of oil via Baku-Supsa at the beginning of August due to Georgia-Ossetia conflict (Supsa is located on Georgia's Black Sea shore). The first oil consignment is expected to be dispatched from the port by the end of this week. It has been repaired since October 2006.
Baku-Supsa is operated by BP-run Azerbaijan International Operating Company (AIOC). Light oil produced by AIOC from Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli fields had been pumped via the pipe until suspension.
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