TURKEY: Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline Capacity Increases by 20 pct

Caspian oil is carried to Europe from Adana’s Ceyhan terminal. The capacity of the BP-backed Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan [BTC] pipeline has been raised from 1 million barrels to 1.2 million barrels per day thanks to the investments made by BP, BP Turkey President Can Suphi said on Thursday, adding that the company’s goal is to start operating the pipeline at full capacity in the near future.

Speaking in Ankara at a meeting organized for the promotion of social development projects being implemented in settlements along the route of the BTC pipeline, Suphi said the demand for crude oil is expected to increase all around the world by the end of 2010, attributing this rise to the recovery from the global financial crisis. BP has managed to increase its production by 7 percent in the third quarter of this year over the same period of last year, which is a result of a restructuring process the company has been undergoing for the last two years, he noted.
Suphi emphasized the increase in the BTC pipeline’s capacity and said: “This pipeline is of great importance in terms of transporting energy from reserves in the east to the west. It is also beneficial for turning Turkey into an energy bridge.”

Suphi stated that he does not see the Samsun-Ceyhan oil pipeline, which will be built jointly by Italian energy company Eni and Turkish company Çalık Energy, as a rival to the BTC. The Samsun-Ceyhan oil pipeline will reduce traffic in Bosporus, he said, adding: “One percent of the world’s oil demand is supplied by the BTC. Four percent of the world’s oil demand is transferred through Turkey. So, 3 percent of total demand is being transported through the Bosporus, which is a significant amount. So I find the Samsun-Ceyhan pipeline beneficial in this regard.”

Source: Today's Zaman