The first batch of Kazakh oil from the Tengiz field via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline was shipped from Türkiye's Ceyhan Port on April 22, Azernews reports, citing local media sources.
According to SOCAR Midstream Operations LLC, the oil shipment, totaling 83.2 thousand tons (665 thousand barrels), was loaded onto the tanker "Alatau". The loading ceremony was attended by delegations from SOCAR, KazMunayGas, Tengizchevroil, Kazmortransflot and their subsidiaries.
This milestone was achieved following continuous oil supplies from the port of Aktau in Kazakhstan to the Sangachal Terminal of Azertrans in Azerbaijan, with subsequent transportation to the BTC system, which began in March 2023. The loading of the next batch of Kazakh oil onto a tanker at the port of Ceyhan is scheduled for the end of May 2023.
The transportation of Kazakh oil through BTC is being carried out under the Master Agreement between SOCAR and KazMunayGas, with a goal to transit 1.5 million tons of oil annually. The first shipment of Kazakh oil from the Tengiz field arrived at the Sangachal Terminal from Aktau via the “President Heydar Aliyev” tanker on March 23, 2023.
In 2022, SOCAR executed significant projects to upgrade the gathering pipeline network at and outside the Sangachal Terminal to receive Kazakh oil into the BTC pipeline, increasing its capacity utilization.
The successful shipment of the first batch of Kazakh oil via the BTC pipeline represents a significant achievement in strengthening the partnership between SOCAR and KazMunayGas. It also underscores the importance of regional energy cooperation, highlighting the strategic importance of the BTC pipeline as a key route for the transportation of Caspian oil to world markets.
BTC carries oil from the Azeri-Chirag-Deepwater Gunashli and condensate from Shah Deniz fields, as well as from other sources. BTC’s current throughput capacity is 1.2 million barrels per day or 50 million tons per year.
Since the 1,768 km BTC pipeline became operational in June 2006 till the end of 2022, it carried a total of 3.99 billion barrels (more than 531 million tons) of crude oil loaded on 5,244 tankers and sent to world markets.
On 18 January 2023, BTC achieved the 4 billion barrels of oil export milestone, Azernews reports.
