The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) Company announced that as of July 1, the operatorship of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) export oil pipeline has transitioned from “BP Exploration (Caspian Sea) Limited” (bp) to “SOCAR Midstream Operations” LLC (SMO), a subsidiary of SOCAR.
According to sea-news.az the transfer of operatorship covers all three sections of the BTC pipeline: Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey. In addition, the management of all activities related to the BTC pipeline, as well as the operatorship of common activities currently performed by bp regarding both the BTC and South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP) systems, has also been transferred to SMO. This transition is based on the relevant agreements that formed the basis of the BTC project and were accepted as part of the final investment decision. The transfer covers all separate BTC facilities and activities in all three countries, as well as common activities related to BTC/SCP, with the exception of the facilities located within the Sangachal Terminal.
The operatorship of the Sangachal Terminal remains unchanged — bp will continue to operate this facility. The shareholding structure of BTC Co. also remains unchanged.
“The milestone we are announcing today is a significant event for the BTC project. We are very proud to have served as the operator of BTC, overseeing its long years of safe, reliable, and highly efficient operation — whether it was leading the unprecedented scale and technically complex construction process of the pipeline across three transit countries for over three years, or ensuring its efficient and safe operation for more than twenty years since,” said Gio Ciferri, bp’s Regional President for Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey. “We are confident that SOCAR will continue to maintain the same high standards by ensuring the safe, reliable, and excellent execution of BTC operations. As a shareholder in the BTC and SCP projects, we will continue our close and long-term partnership with SOCAR and our other partners. We also extend our gratitude to the BTC Co. Board of Directors and all our partners for their continued support, cooperation, and trust during the period when the BTC system was operated by bp.”
“The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline is a lasting testament to Azerbaijan’s visionary energy strategy, strong international partnerships, and collective commitment to long-term cooperation. Over the past twenty years, BTC has made a significant contribution to Azerbaijan’s sustainable development, strengthened regional cooperation, and enhanced global energy security,” noted SOCAR President Rovshan Najaf. “The transfer of the BTC operatorship to SOCAR, together with the common operatorship of the BTC and South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP) systems, is an important milestone reflecting the company’s growing experience in managing world-class energy infrastructure. SOCAR remains fully committed to ensuring the safe, reliable, and efficient operation of this strategic energy corridor, further strengthening its contribution to regional and global energy security.”
Previously, in accordance with relevant agreements, the facilities of the Western Export Pipeline (WREP) in Azerbaijan and Georgia were handed back on June 8 of this year to entities acting on behalf of the governments of Azerbaijan (SMO) and Georgia (Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation – GOGC), respectively.
“SOCAR Midstream Gas Operations” LLC (SOCAR MGO) has been the commercial operator of the SCP since 2015 and the technical operator since 2021; throughout this time, the management of common activities for BTC and SCP has been based on a strong partnership between SOCAR and bp. bp and SOCAR have worked closely to ensure the safe and orderly transfer of all facilities and related activities covered by the operatorship transition, while ensuring that pipeline operations remained reliable and uninterrupted.
It should be noted that the 1,768-kilometer-long BTC pipeline was built to export crude oil from the Caspian region to the Mediterranean in a safe and responsible manner. Since the construction phase, BTC has brought significant benefits to the region and paved the way for positive changes. The BTC pipeline supports the strengthening of economic and political ties between Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, and Western countries, while providing important revenues to transit countries.
Since the beginning of the BTC project, thousands of social initiatives have been implemented in close cooperation with over 550 communities (more than 750,000 people) along the pipeline route, and this activity will continue in the future. The current throughput capacity of BTC is 1 million barrels per day. The pipeline uses pipes with diameters of 46/42/34 inches. Across the three transit countries, the pipeline has eight pump stations and 98 block valve stations. It crosses several mountain ranges, reaching a high point of 2,830 meters, as well as 3,000 roads, railways, underground and overhead utility lines, and more than 1,500 water bodies, including a crossing of the Ceyhan River, which is up to 500 meters wide, before descending back to sea level in Ceyhan.
Considered one of the largest and most complex engineering feats of its time globally, the construction of BTC took four years to complete — the project was approved in July 2002 and finished in May 2006. At the peak of construction, 22,000 people were involved in the work (nearly 80 percent of whom were local workers), over 110 million man-hours were spent, and 220,000 pipe sections were welded.
It is worth noting that the first tanker was loaded with crude oil at the Ceyhan Terminal on June 4, 2006 — the initial volumes, consisting of approximately 600,000 barrels of “Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli” (ACG) crude oil, were loaded onto the “British Hawthorn” tanker and dispatched from Ceyhan. To date, more than 4.7 billion barrels (approximately 630 million tons) of crude oil have been transported via the BTC pipeline and shipped to world markets on 6,271 tankers. Currently, the BTC pipeline primarily transports ACG oil and “Shah Deniz” condensate from Azerbaijan. In addition, other regional crude oil and condensate volumes from the Caspian (from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and other volumes produced by SOCAR in Azerbaijan) are also transported via BTC.
