The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline, which passes through eastern and southern Türkiye, has delivered over 4 billion barrels of crude oil to world markets since its inauguration in 2006.
Over 5,250 tankers have carried the oil from the pipeline, which begins from the Caspian Sea coast near Azerbaijan's capital Baku and traverses neighboring Georgia before going on to Türkiye, where it ends in the province of Adana on the Mediterranean Sea coast.
The Turkish part of the pipeline, including the Haydar Aliyev Marine Terminal in the district of Ceyhan, is operated by Türkiye's Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAŞ)’s BOTAŞ International (BIL).
According to BIL and BTC data, since the terminal opened in July 2006, it delivered 200.46 million barrels of oil in 2021 and 224.4 million last year.
In BTC, where 200.4 million barrels of crude oil was distributed to the world markets in 2021, some 224.3 million barrels were loaded on 305 tankers in 2022.
Last year, the highest shipment was made in November with 21.1 million barrels, while the least shipment was made in February with 13.5 million barrels.
Nadim Ekiz, general manager of the BIL, told Anadolu Agency that the institution had been performing a crucial task for 17 years under Türkiye's energy supply policies.
Ekiz emphasized that the BIL also makes significant contributions to the country's economy.
BIL was founded by BOTAŞ on July 3, 1996, in order to participate in the activities of countries and multinational companies that are involved in oil and natural gas projects, and was commissioned to operate BTC in 2001.
In BTC, which started loading crude oil to tankers from the Ceyhan Marine Terminal on June 2, 2006, the oil extracted from the Caspian Sea is transported to the marine terminal in Ceyhan via Georgia through the pipeline, and from there to world markets by tankers. The line, which is 1,776 kilometers (1,103.56 miles) long, has a daily oil carrying capacity of 1 million barrels and 50 million tons of oil per year.
Along the Turkish section of the line, there are a total of four pumping stations in northeastern Ardahan, Erzurum, Erzincan and central Sivas, two pressure regulation stations and 52 block valve stations in eastern Kars and southeastern Kahramanmaraş.
At the Ceyhan Marine Terminal, there are seven oil tanks, each with a diameter of 100 meters (328.08 feet), a height of 20 meters and a storage capacity of 1 million barrels, a control room, a measuring station and pier loading facilities, Daily Sabah reports.
