SOCAR has commenced the transit of crude oil from Kazakhstan’s Kashagan field through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline.
On January 25, the first shipment of Kashagan crude oil loaded onto a tanker at the Port of Aktau amounted to approximately 6,000 tonnes. Arriving at the Sangachal Terminal on January 27, the cargo will be transported to the Port of Ceyhan via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline. The first shipment is being carried by the Taraz tanker, operated by Kazakhstan’s KazMorTransFlot. This became possible following the signing of an agreement on January 15, 2025, between SOCAR Midstream Operations LLC, a SOCAR subsidiary, and KMG Trading, a subsidiary of KazMunayGas (KMG), for the transit of 240,000 tonnes of Kashagan crude oil per year.
In March 2024, SOCAR and KMG signed an agreement on the gradual increase of oil transit through the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The document envisages increasing transportation volumes to up to 2.2 million tonnes annually.
In addition, an agreement signed between SOCAR and KMG in November 2022 provides for the transit of 1.5 million tonnes of crude oil per year from Kazakhstan’s Tengiz field. In February 2024, the parties also signed a further agreement on the phased increase of Kazakh oil transit volumes through Azerbaijan.
It should be noted that the commencement of Kashagan crude oil transportation via the BTC pipeline is not only a manifestation of the friendly relations between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, but also serves to further strengthen cooperation between the two countries.
Notes for editor:
- State-registered on July 24, 2014, SOCAR Midstream Operations represents SOCAR’s shareholder rights and interests in strategically significant state projects. SOCAR Midstream Operations is part of the Integrated Planning, Optimization and Logistics (IPOL) Division of SOCAR.
- BTC, launched in June 2006, connects the Sangachal Terminal to the Ceyhan Terminal, transporting oil from the ACG field and condensate from Shah Deniz across Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye.
- BTC carries oil from the Azeri-Chirag-Deepwater Gunashli and condensate from Shah Deniz fields, as well as from other sources.
- From 2006 to the end of September 2024, BTC carried around 4.4 billion barrels (about 583 million tons) of crude oil to world markets.
In the first three quarters of 2024, approximately 165 million barrels (22 million tons) of BTC-exported crude oil were lifted at Ceyhan and loaded onto 229 tankers.