Resumption of oil transportation via BTC not political step: source
By Aynur Jafarova
Resuming the transportation of Tengiz oil through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline is not politically motivated, a source in Kazakh oil and gas market said.
Economy and pragmatism demand the diversification of Kazakhstan's oil stream, the source told Trend news agency on December 4.
"There are several reasons to resume transportation of Tengiz oil via the BTC pipeline through the Azerbaijani territory. Firstly, the shareholders of the BTC pipeline and Tengizchevroil have agreed on the tariff for injecting oil into the pipeline, which is lower than before. The current tariff is a commercial secret," the source said.
Earlier, Head of the Investment Department of the Azerbaijani Energy Ministry Ramiz Rzayev said four million tons of Kazakh oil will be transported through Azerbaijan in 2014.
The source went on to say the second reason behind resuming Kazakh oil transportation via BTC is that a problem occurred in the railway in Russia in 2013, and the Tengizchevroil shareholders decided to resume the transportation of Tengiz oil through the South Caucasus.
"It is strategically important to have an alternative. Furthermore, four million tons is approximately 13 percent of the total volume of oil produced in Tengiz, and such volumes will not affect the incomes of the Tengizchevroil shareholders," the source noted.
He also said the main volume of oil produced in the Tengiz field will be transported via the pipeline of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium through the Russian territory.
Oil production in the Tengiz field amounted to 26 million tons in 2012.
The source went on to note that the BTC pipeline was and will be a backup route for Kazakhstan.
"It should also be taken into account that the implementation of the project for the future expansion of Tengiz field will lead to an increase in oil production from the current 26 million tons per year to 38 million tons per year," the source noted.
Earlier, Tengizchevroil Consortium, which is engaged in developing Kazakhstan's Tengiz and Korolev oil fields, signed an agreement to resume oil transportation through the BTC pipeline.
Oil transportation through the pipeline had come to a stop in 2008.
The BТС pipeline, with a total length of 1,768 kilometers, carries crude oil from the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli oil fields in the Caspian Sea to the Turkish Mediterranean coast.
The Tengiz oil field was discovered in 1979 and is one of the deepest and largest oil fields in the world. The reserves of the Tengiz field are estimated at 750 million to 1.1 billion tons (6-9 billion barrels) of recoverable oil.