Kazakhstan begins oil transit via Baku-Ceyhan

Sincer the August crisis the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline has not only resumed working at full volume but also plans to expand. Kazakh oil is to play an important role in this. The transit of Kazakh oil in small quantities has already begun.

Kazakhstan has started transporting oil from the Tengiz rig. This is being transported by tanker from Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan, through the Caspian Sea, and subsequently through the pipeline.

According to an agreement between BTC Co (the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline exploitation operator) and Tengizshvroil, 300,000 tonnes of Kazakh oil will be pumped from Baku to Ceyhan by the end of 2008. The oil will be transported by tanker from Kazakhstan to the Absheron peninsula. It is expected that after starting work on the Kashagan sea rig the amount of Kazakh oil transported via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline will increase to 15-20 million tonnes.

According to the Azeri Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, 470 million tonnes of crude oil has been already transported via Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan. The Minister stated that in the near future the amount of oil transported via Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan will reach 1.6 million barrels daily, and that transporting Kazakh oil will also continue.