Oil transit from Kazakhstan via BTC in 2023 reaches 1 million tonnes, 1.5 million tonnes planned in 2024

BAKU. March 6 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan plans to increase the volume of oil it transports to world markets through Azerbaijan, Kazakh Energy Minister Almasadam Satkaliyev said.

Satkaliyev and Azerbaijan's Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov discussed a number of issues related to cooperation between the countries in the field of energy on March 5 in Astana, including the transit of Kazakh oil, and the implementation of large-scale renewable energy projects.

"Our national companies have been given the task of increasing the volume of oil supplies due to the growth of production in Kazakhstan. In this regard, we plan to increase the volume of supplies of Kazakh oil," Satkaliyev said.

Oil shipments from the port of Aktau to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline system in 2023 totaled 1.057 million tonnes, the Energy Ministry said. Shipments of Kazakh oil via the BTC pipeline in the amount of 1.5 million tonnes are planned for 2024.

"The Energy Ministers also discussed upcoming work on the implementation of a project aimed at connecting the energy systems of the Caucasus region with Central Asia by laying a deep-sea cable along the bottom of the Caspian Sea," the Ministry of Energy said.

KazMunayGas and the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan signed an agreement in November 2022 on oil transit along the Aktau-Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan route.