Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline

The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) Pipeline connects Sangachal Terminal on the Caspian Sea coast of Azerbaijan with Ceyhan Terminal on the Mediterranean coast of Türkiye. Its design transportation capacity is 1 million barrels (mmbbl) per day. The expanded capacity (available after mobilizing DRA skids, which are currently mothballed) is 1.2 mmbbls.
The construction of the BTC pipeline named in honour of the National Leader Heydar Aliyev began in April 2003 and was completed in April 2005. The opening ceremony of the pipeline’s Azerbaijani section was held on the 25th of May 2005. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev attended the ceremony. The Georgian section was commissioned in October 2005.

On the 28th of May 2006, Azerbaijani oil was delivered to the Ceyhan terminal, and on the 4th of July, the first tanker loaded with oil set sail. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Main Export Pipeline was inaugurated on the 13th of July 2006 in Ceyhan, Türkiye.
The project in details and figures
● The operator of the BTC pipeline is the British company BP. To build and operate the pipeline, BTC Co. was established in 2001.
● The length of the pipeline is 1,768 km: in Azerbaijan - 443 km, in Georgia - 249 km, in Türkiye – 1,076 km. The Azerbaijani and Georgian sections of the pipeline are operated by BP on behalf of BTC Co’s shareholders, while the Türkiye section is operated by BOTAS International Limited (BIL).
● The service life of the pipeline is 40 years.
● The pipeline infrastructure includes 8 pumping stations: 2 of them are located in Azerbaijan, 2 in Georgia and 4 in Türkiye. In addition, there is a pressure relief station and 2 treatment plants.
● The BTC pipeline passes through 13 regions (Garadagh, Absheron, Hajigabul, Aghsu, Kurdamir, Ujar, Aghdash, Yevlakh, Goranboy, Samukh, Shamkir, Tovuz, Aghstafa) of Azerbaijan, 7 regions of Georgia and 9 regions of Türkiye.
22,000 people were involved in the construction of the pipeline and 110 million man/hour were used.
● 220,000 pipes were welded from the beginning to the end of the pipeline, and 2 million pipes were lifted.
● The highest part of the pipeline route - at an altitude of 2,800 meters above sea level - is located in Türkiye.
● The buried pipeline passes through 500 settlements along the entire route.
● From March 2006 to March 2009, the pipeline’s throughput capacity was 1 mmbbl per day, and since March 2009, it has increased to 1.2 mmbbl per day. Crude oil covers the full length of the pipeline in 10 days.

Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan today
At present, the BTC pipeline transports Azerbaijani oil from the Azeri-Chirag-Deepwater Gunashli block, condensate from the Shah Deniz field and oil produced. The pipeline also transports oil from the Caspian countries (Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan) to world markets via the Mediterranean.
More than 516 million tons (4.22 billion barrels) of crude oil have been exported to world markets through the BTC pipeline since its commissioning by end of 2023.
After regaining its independence, Azerbaijan has exported more than 80% of its oil through the BTC pipeline.