As of the Azerbaijan news agency Report, BP will transfer the operation of the Baku-Supsa oil pipeline to Georgia and Azerbaijan by the end of June, according to Gordon Birrell, BP’s Executive Vice President for Production and Operations.
Birrell said the move does not represent BP’s exit from the asset, but rather fulfills contractual obligations agreed under the pipeline arrangements. He stressed that the transfer is a requirement under existing agreements rather than a strategic decision by the company.
Under the agreement, operational responsibility in each country will be handed over to the respective governments as asset owners, which will then determine future operators. BP confirmed last year that it was negotiating the transfer of its operator role, including the return of facilities in Georgia to the Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation or another designated operator.
The 830-km Baku-Supsa pipeline, also known as the Western Route Export Pipeline (WREP), has been idle since the start of the war in Ukraine due to Black Sea security concerns. The route historically transported around 4 million tons of Azerbaijani oil annually from the Chirag field in the Caspian Sea to Georgia’s Supsa terminal.
