Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept. 7 / Trend E.Ismayilov /
The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline transported 148,12o tons of the Turkmen oil in August compared to 191,500 tons in July, the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR said.
The oil is transported under contracts signed between SOCAR, Dragon Oil and other oil-producing companies in Turkmenistan.
Oil transportation via the BTC began in July, 2010. In 2010, the BTC transported 1.3 million tons of Turkmen oil.
SOCAR Trading buys and transports oil from producers in Turkmenistan across the Caspian Sea to the BTC entrance flange at the Sangachal Terminal in Baku. The BTC Co. then transports the oil via the BTC to SOCAR Trading at the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, Turkey.
Earlier the BTC also transported oil from the Kazakh Tengiz Field, which is operated by Tengizchevroil (Chevron). However, oil shipments were suspended earlier in 2010 due to the non-coordination of transportation conditions.
BTC Co. shareholders are: BP (30.1 percent); AzBTC (25 percent); Chevron (8.90 percent); Statoil (8.71 percent); ТРАО (6.53 percent); Eni (5 percent); Total (5 percent); Itochu (3.40 percent); Inpex (2.50 percent); ConocoPhillips (2.50 percent); and Amerada Hess (2.36 percent).
The BTC's pumping capacity is 1.2 million barrels of oil per day.