Azernews.Az

The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline transported 23.3 million barrels of oil via Turkey in January, compared to 23.4 million barrels in January 2011, the Turkish state pipeline company Botas said on its website Tuesday.

Some 257.15 million barrels of oil were transported via the BTC through Turkey in 2011 compared to about 288.2 million barrels in 2010.

The BTC pipeline allows to export crude from the oil-rich Caspian Sea without increasing tanker traffic through the crowded Turkish Straits. The BТС's total length is 1,768 kilometers, including a 443-kilometer section running via Azerbaijan, a 249-kilometer section traversing Georgia and a 1,076-kilometer section passing through Turkey. First oil was marketed in May 2005.

Shareholders of BTC Co., owner of the pipeline, include: BP (30.1% - operator), Socar (25%), Chevron (8.9%), Statoil Hydro (8.71%), TPAO (6.53%), ENI (5%), Total (5%), Itochu (3.40%), Inpex (2.5%), ConocoPhillips (2.5%) and Amerada Hess (2.36%).

Over 12 million barrels of oil were transported via an Iraq-Turkey pipeline through Turkey in January compared to 12.7 million in January 2011. About 147.2 million barrels were transported via this pipeline last year compared to 132.3 million barrels in 2010.

About 242,000 barrels of oil were transported via the Ceyhan-Kirikkale pipeline through Turkey in January compared to over 1.2 million barrels in January 2011. About 20.15 million barrels of oil were transported in 2011, up from 17.2 million barrels reported in 2010.

The Batman-Dordyol pipeline transported 728,000 barrels in January compared to 1.5 million barrels in the same period of 2011. About 10.1 million barrels were transported last year, a slight reduction compared to about 10.6 million barrels in 2010.