Baku Tbilisi Ceyhan Pipeline

Summary Information

• Source: Baku, Azerbaijan
• Destination: Ceyhan, Turkey
• Ownership: The BTC Company
  • The partners are:
  • BP (UK);
  • SOCAR (the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan);
  • TPAO (Turkey);
  • Statoil (Norway);
  • Unocal (USA);
  • Itochu (Japan);
  • Amerada Hess (Saudi Arabia);
  • Eni (Italy);
  • TotalFinaElf (France);
  • INPEX (Japan)
  • MOL (Hungary).
• Website:
• Length: 1,768 kilometres ( miles)
• Capacity: One million barrels of oil per day
• Crude Type: Azeri Light Crude Oil

The Route

• The pipeline travels from the Sangachal Oil and Gas Processing Terminal near Baku through Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey to the Ceyhan marine terminal on the Turkish coast of the Mediterranean. The sections of the pipe are 443km in Azerbaijan, 249km in Georgia, and 1,076km in Turkey.

Pipeline Status

• In operation since 2006

History

• 2001 - Baku - Tbilisi - Ceyhan Pipeline Company Formed
• November 4, 2003, the Board of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, approved lending to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline
• 2003 - Ex-Im Bank approved a $160 million long-term guarantee to support the project
• 2005 - Linefill of the BTC pipeline started at 10th May
• 2006 - First oil reached the Ceyhan terminal on 28th May
• 2006 - The first tanker export of crude which had travelled through the line was on 4th June
• 2019 - MOL acquires ConocoPhillips stake
• 2023 - Equinor agrees to sell its stake to Socar

Other Information

• The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline Company (BTC Co) is responsible for the construction and operation of the whole pipeline. It is an incorporated joint venture company made up of 11 shareholders and managed by BP, its largest shareholder.
• The diameter of the pipeline is 42 inches throughout most of Azerbaijan and Turkey. In Georgia the pipeline diameter is 46 inches. The pipeline diameter reduces to 34-inches for the last downhill section to the Ceyhan Marine Terminal in Turkey.
• Approximately 10 million barrels of oil were required to fill the line.
• The BTC pipeline facilities include:
  • 8 pump stations (2 in Azerbaijan, 2 in Georgia, 4 in Turkey)
  • 2 intermediate pigging stations
  • 1 pressure reduction station
  • 101 small block valves

Links

1. Baku - Tbilisi - Ceyhan Pipeline Company Formed
2. BP BTC Page
3. Project Page from Hydrocarbons Technology
4. Project Information from BIC
5. IFC Project Page
6. EBRD Project Page
7. EX-IM Bank Approves $160 Million Guarantee To Support Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline
8. MOL agrees to purchase a 9.57% stake in Azerbaijan’s ACG oil field and 8.9% in the BTC pipeline
9. Equinor sells its interests in Azerbaijan