Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 15 / Trend E.Ismayilov /
The Azerbaijani oil is transported via the Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline in normal mode, President of the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) Rovnag Abdullayev said.
Earlier Russian media quoted Transneft Company Head Nikolai Tokarev that Transneft plans to revise the agreement with Azerbaijan on oil transportation via the Baku-Novorossiysk oil pipeline, due to possible loading of additional oil from Kazakhstan and Lukoil's raw material extracted in the Caspian Sea.
Abdullayev said certain volumes of Azerbaijani oil, about 2 million tons per year, is transported via the pipeline's section located on the territory of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani oil is mixed with other varieties, particularly from Kazakhstan, in the Transneft pipeline system in Makhachkala. "There is no problem in the oil transportation," Abdullayev said.
SOCAR exported over 2.24 million tons of oil via the Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline in 2010 compared to 2.5 million in 2009.
SOCAR transships its own oil, as well as oil of joint ventures and operating companies operating in Azerbaijan's onshore fields, through Novorossiysk.
Azerbaijan exports URALS oil from the Novorossiysk port, which is delivered via the Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline. The high quality Azerbaijani oil, including Azeri Light, is blended with other oil brands in the Russian pipeline system and is sold from the Novorossiysk Port as URALS.
Until late 2007, AIOC was the operator of Baku-Novorossiysk. The structure then transferred these functions to SOCAR.