Azerbaijan, Baku, 22 September /corr. Trend S.Aliyev / "Russian company Transneft is ready to ensure the safety of quality of the Azerbaijani Light Oil in the Black Sea Port of Novorossiysk, with the transport of 5mln tons of oil per year via Baku-Novorossiysk," said the high-ranking representative of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR).
Using this pipeline is important from the point of view of diversification of the routes for transportation of Azerbaijan oil, the same source said. This was testified by the last events, when because of fire the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline was stopped and because of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict the operations on the Baku-Supsa pipeline were stopped and the transport of oil via railway to the Georgian Black Sea Ports considerably complicated.
Today the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan transports nearly 1mln tons of oil via Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline. This volume is minimal to maintain this route, the SOCAR said.
Azerbaijani Azeri Light is intended to be transported via Baku-Novorossiysk in order to increase the volumes of transportation via this route to 5mln tons. The SOCAR is prepared to export 2mln tons of Light oil. Negotiations are held with the participants to Azerbaijan International Operating Company (operator is BP), which produces light oil on the block of fields of Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli, in order to provide remaining 3mln tons.
Today all partners on the project, excluding Exxon and Devon, which transport oil via railway to Batumi Port, export their oil via Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.
Today during the transport of oil via Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline, (in the Port of Novorossiysk), Urals oil is obtained because of the mixing with the oil of other producers. Transneft is ready to maintain the quality of Azeri Light Oil in the Port of Novorossiysk with the condition of transportation not less than 5mln tons of oil per year.
By the end of the last year, the operator of the Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline was the Azerbaijan International Operating Company, which transferred it to the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR). SOCAR representative said that in this case, the partners on AIOC did not intend to transport oil along this route further. However, because of the events in Georgia, the AIOC partners (participants in the BTC project) needed to re-establish export along this route.
The participants of the project to develop the largest sea field Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli are BP (34,1367%), ChevronTexaco (10,2814%), SOCAR (10%), INPEX (10%), Statoil (8,5633%), ExxonMobil (8,006 %), TPAO (6.75%), Devon Energy (5,6262%), Itochu (3,9205%), Delta Hess (2,7213%). The volume of investments totals $20bln.
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