Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 8 / Trend /
The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (Socar) exported roughly 20.5 million tons of oil via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline compared to 6.5 million tons for the same period in 2007, the energy giant's Marketing and Economic Operations Department reported.
The "Azeri Light" oil produced in the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli fields and the condensate produced in the Shah Deniz field are exported through the BTC pipeline. Its maximum throughout capacity is projected at one million barrels of oil.
Oil is delivered via the BTC pipeline through Azerbaijan and Georgia to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean Sea. The pipeline is 1,768-kilometers long, including a 443-kilometer section traversing Azerbaijan, a 249-kilometer section passing through Georgia and a 1,076-kilometer section within Turkey.
The construction of the BTC pipeline cost $4 billion, which includes construction and filling expenses. Financial expenditures and payments on interests from banking loans are not included in the aforementioned sum. The total loans amount to $2.6 billion.
Project shareholders include: BP (30.1 percent); AzBTC (25 percent); Chevron (8.90 percent); StatoilHydro (8.71 percent); TRAO (6.53 percent); Eni (5 percent); Total (5 percent); Itochu (3.40 percent); Inpex (2.50 percent); ConocoPhilips (2.50 percent); and Hess (2.36 percent).
