650 tankers load of Azerbaijani oil launched from Ceyhan

General director and chairman of the board of Botas International Limited (Turkish operator of Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline) Salih Pashaoghlu announced that 650 tankers load of Azerbaijani oil were launched from the Ceyhan port from 2006 till late 2008, reports Day.Az with reference to the Turkish Zaman newspaper.

According to Pashaoghlu, the BTC pipeline transport 70,000,000 tons of oil to the destination point. "Oil from Ceyhan goes to all countries. A greater part of oil goes to Italy among the European countries", said he.

Notably, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline extends to 1,768 kilometers with 443 kilometers in Azerbaijan, 249 kilometers in Georgia and 1076 kilometers in Turkey. The daily transportation capacity of the pipeline makes a million of barrels. It takes 10 days for crude oil to pass from one end of the pipeline to another. The pipeline construction started in April of 2003 and it was filled with oil on May 18 of 2005. Oil reached the Georgian section of the pipeline on August 10 of 2005, Turkish section on November 18 of 2005, Ceyhan terminal on May 28 of 2006.

On June 4 of 2006 the first tanker load of Azerbaijani oil was launched into the sea from the Ceyhan port to Europe and the ceremony of the pipeline opening was held in Ceyhan on June 13 of 2006.

The pipeline shareholders are BP (30.1%), AzBTC (25%), Chevron (8.9%), Statoil (8.71%), TPAO (6.53%), ENI (5%), Total (5%), Itochu (3.4%), Inpex (2.5%), ConocoPhillips (2.5%) and Amerada Hess (2.36%).

/Day.Az/