Oil deliveries through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline increased by 18 percent in December, compared to the previous month, Azerbaijan's state-owned energy company Socar data revealed Thursday.
The pipeline, which carries crude oil from Azerbaijan to Turkey's Ceyhan port in southern Turkey, delivered more than 2.7 million tons of Azeri oil during the month of December compared to 2.2 million tons in November, Socar said Thursday.
During 2015 overall, Socar noted that a total of 29 million tons of oil were exported through the pipeline.
To date from when BTC became operational in June 2006, a total of 291 million tons of oil have been pumped through the pipeline.
The BTC pipeline, built by the BTC pipeline company is 1,776 kilometer in length. While the Azerbaijani and Georgian sections of the pipeline are operated by BP, the Turkish section is operated by Turkey's Petroleum Pipeline Corporation BOTAS' International Limited company.
The pipeline has a capacity to carry 1.2 million barrels of oil per day. In addition to Azeri crude, the pipeline also carries oil from Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan to Turkey's Ceyhan port where oil is exported via tankers to the global market.
Turkey's Ceyhan port on the eastern Mediterranean coast also serves as an outlet for oil exports from northern Iraq.
By Muhsin Baris Tiryakioglu
Anadolu Agency
ovunc.kutlu@aa.com.tr