An Azerbaijani-Kazakh intergovernmental agreement on joint oil pumping via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan main export oil pipeline can be signed by the Energy Ministers of the two countries by the end of 2005, Trend reports quoting Andar Shukputov, the Kazakh Ambassador to Azerbaijan.
“The agreement was initialed by both sides, while the place of signing and signatories are still questionable. On part of Kazakhstan the signatory will be more probably the Energy Minister. The same will happen to the transport agreement,” he underlined.
Talks between the SOCAR and KazMunayGas JSC on the intergovernmental agreement on joint oil transpiration via the BTC started in November 2002. The agreement, in particular, envisages the establishment of the Aktau-Baku pipeline system. In the initial stage it is
planned to transport 7.5 million tons of Kazakh oil via the BTC with further increase of the volume to 20 million tons.
The BTC pipeline with the length of 1767km runs via Azerbaijan (443km), Georgia (248km), and Turkey (1076km). The discharge capacity of the pipeline is 50 million tons of oil a year.
Zurab Gumberidze, the Georgian Ambassador to Azerbaijan, told Trend the work under the BTC project was complete in his country.