BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 11. Türkiye and Azerbaijan are discussing ways to make full use of existing energy infrastructure, including increasing the use of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline’s capacity to 1 million barrels per day, Türkiye’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar said, Trend's correspondent reports from the event.
He made the remarks at a briefing following a signing ceremony held as part of the fifth Azerbaijan-Türkiye Energy Forum.
"We are currently discussing how to bring our existing energy infrastructure to full capacity—specifically, how to raise the throughput of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline to one million barrels," he said.
Bayraktar noted that the cooperation also encompasses discussions on interconnectivity projects designed to link the Turkic world, particularly in the electricity sector.
"One of our top priorities is maximizing the efficiency of existing infrastructure," Bayraktar explained.
The minister also said that Türkiye and Azerbaijan are discussing joint exploration and production projects involving SOCAR and Turkish Petroleum.
"We are discussing joint projects between SOCAR and Turkish Petroleum in both Türkiye and Azerbaijan—initiatives that began last year with the Shafag-Asiman field and which, I hope, will extend to Karabakh—as well as joint SOCAR projects in Türkiye and third countries. We'll hold consultations on this and, hopefully, present concrete projects," he added.
Bayraktar pointed out that energy cooperation between Türkiye and Azerbaijan, which had traditionally focused on oil and natural gas, has in recent years begun to shift toward the electricity sector.
