SOCAR takes over BTC pipeline operatorship from BP
SOCAR takes over BTC pipeline operatorship from BP BAKU, July 1 (Reuters) - Operatorship of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline has transferred from BP to SOCAR Midstream Operations effective Wednesday, BTC Co said.
SOCAR Midstream Operations is a wholly owned subsidiary of Azerbaijan's state energy company SOCAR. The transfer covers BTC pipeline sections across Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey.
It also includes management of BTC pipeline activities and common activities related to both the BTC and South Caucasus Pipeline systems, excluding facilities inside the Sangachal terminal.
BP will remain operator of the Sangachal terminal, as well as the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli and Shah Deniz fields and other upstream projects in the Caspian.
BTC Co said its shareholding structure remained unchanged.
The 1,768-km pipeline has capacity of 1 million barrels per day and has carried more than 4.7 billion barrels, or about 630 million tonnes, of crude oil to world markets since operations began in 2006.
BTC mainly carries Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli crude and Shah Deniz condensate from Azerbaijan, as well as other Caspian regional crude and condensate from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and SOCAR volumes produced in Azerbaijan.
(Reporting by Nailia Bagirova; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )
((nailia.bagirova@thomsonreuters.com; +994503129362;))