BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 5. Kazakhstan's oil export through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline can reach 2-2.2 million tons in 2024 against 1.4 million tons in 2023, an informed source exclusively told Trend.
The consortium developing the Kazakh field of Tengiz is particularly interested in this growth.
"Last year, Kazakh oil accounted for around 1.4 million tons of the total oil pumped via BTC, with 1.06 million tons from Tengiz. However, we need to address all the details surrounding the oil quality because only a volume of up to 1.5 million tons does not significantly effect the composition of the BTC Blend, and if it is greater, there should be a financial compensation for the quality," the source noted.
According to the source, the details may become clearer by the second quarter of 2024, most likely after the planned visit of the President of Kazakhstan to Baku.
Overall, BTC transports oil from the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli block of Azerbaijani fields, condensate from the Shah Deniz field, oil and condensate from oil and gas production departments and joint ventures of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), and oil from Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.
To note, the pipeline's throughput capacity surpasses 1.2 million barrels of oil per day.