Baku: BP has confirmed that oil quality is thoroughly checked before each loading operation at the Ceyhan terminal. BTC Co., in close collaboration with SOCAR, is managing the crude oil in tanks at the terminal, which has been identified as not meeting the accepted specifications due to the presence of organic chlorides. This was stated by Tamam Bayatli, Head of the Press Service of BP-Azerbaijan, in response to an inquiry by APA-Economics.
According to Azeri-Press News Agency, BTC Co. is taking all necessary measures to fully resolve the quality issue. Crude oil loading and export operations at the Ceyhan terminal are continuing as usual, and comprehensive assessments of the crude oil quality are conducted before each loading operation.
In July, BTC Co. became aware of a potential quality issue involving organic chlorides in some crude oil shipments transported via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline. Subsequent evaluations confirmed that crude oil quality at facilities along the pipeline up to the Ceyhan terminal met the accepted specifications. However, organic chlorides were detected in some tanks at the terminal, prompting immediate isolation of these tanks.
The BTC pipeline mainly transports oil from Azerbaijan’s “Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli” block and Shah Deniz condensate, along with other Caspian crude oil and condensate from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and SOCAR-produced volumes in Azerbaijan.
The shareholders of BTC Co. include BP (30.1%), SOCAR (32.97%), MOL (8.90%), TPAO (6.53%), Eni (5%), TotalEnergies (5%), ITOCHU (3.4%), ONGC Videsh (3.1%), ExxonMobil (2.5%), and INPEX (2.5%).