Batumi Oil Terminal plans to optimize its production infrastructure by dismantling some storage tanks, decommissioning others, and changing the functions of several reservoirs, according to updated Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) documents. The company says the terminal has been operating below its planned capacity for years, making optimization a more viable strategy than expansion. The documents were submitted by the terminal's director, Marlen Tulegenov.
The Batumi port and oil terminal are owned by the Georgian state, while Kazakhstan's KazTransOil, a subsidiary of sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna, has operated the terminal under a 49-year lease since 2006. The facility has a designed annual throughput capacity of 5.02 million tons, but handled only 1.05–1.93 million tons per year between 2020 and 2025, or about 21–38% of its capacity. Although throughput is projected to rise to around 4 million tons annually by 2027–2030, it will still remain below the terminal's design capacity.
Instead of replacing dozens of tanks as originally planned, the company now intends to retain much of the existing infrastructure and demolish reservoirs only when their technical condition requires it. Several tanks have already been dismantled, while others will be repurposed to store different types of crude oil and petroleum products, including "Tengiz" crude. The project will also redistribute storage capacity between different sections of the terminal to better match operational needs.
The modernization plan also includes environmental upgrades, such as new vapor recovery and air purification systems, changes to oil sludge management, and the possible introduction of bioremediation technology. According to the company, the project is designed to adapt the terminal's existing infrastructure to current market demand rather than increase its overall capacity.
