Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan line delivers lowest oil since 2007

The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline last year delivered the lowest amount of oil since 2007, according to data from Turkey's petroleum pipeline corporation BOTAS.

The total amount of Azeri oil delivered to international oil markets via the 1,776-kilometer-long BTC pipeline from the Ceyhan marine terminal in the Adana province of southern Turkey totaled around 233.1 million barrels in 2019.

The annual oil transit amount in 2007, one year after the pipeline's inauguration, was around 210 million barrels, BOTAS figures showed.

Since operations began in 2006, the total amount of oil delivered through the pipeline amounted to more than 3.3 billion barrels.

The highest annual oil delivery through the pipeline was made in 2010 at 286.2 million barrels, and the lowest delivery occurred during the startup year in 2006 with 57.8 million barrels, according to BOTAS figures.

- Oil transit peaks in May

In 2019, the highest volume of oil delivered through the pipeline was recorded during the month of May with 22.1 million barrels and the lowest volume was recorded in the month of December with 17.5 million barrels, BOTAS figures showed.

The BTC pipeline delivers Azeri light crude -- mainly from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli field -- through Georgia to Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan for further export via tankers.

The seven oil tanks in the Ceyhan region each hold a storage capacity of 1 million barrels, in addition to 51 valve stations, four pump stations and two pig stations.

The annual oil transit volumes from 2006 to 2019 are set out below: -

The monthly volumes in 2019 are as follows: -

Reporting by Ibrahim Erikan in Adana

Writing by Ovunc Kutlu

Anadolu Agency

energy@aa.com.tr