SOCAR and KazMunayGas sign memorandum on transit of Kazakh oil through Azerbaijan
BAKU. June 22 (Interfax) - The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) and Kazakhstan's KazMunayGas (KMG) have signed a memorandum on strategic cooperation regarding the transit of Kazakh oil through the territory of Azerbaijan, the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan said in a statement.
This and other documents were signed following negotiations between Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov and Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov.
The statement does not include details regarding the memorandum.
KazMunayGas and SOCAR want to increase Kazakh oil transit via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, the KMG press service said.
It said the memorandum, signed by KMG CEO Magzum Mirzagaliev and President of SOCAR Rovshan Najaf, mentions that the parties are interested in increasing Kazakh oil transit through Azerbaijani territory as part of long-term cooperation.
"The memorandum defines the general conditions and principles of mutually beneficial cooperation to increase the necessary capacities for the transit of Kazakh oil through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline," the information says.
As previously reported, in order to diversify its oil export routes, Kazakhstan began deliveries via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline this spring. An agreement was reached on the transportation of 1.5 million tonnes of Kazakh oil per year via the BTC. Currently, these volumes are being shipped from the resources belonging to Tengizchevroil, which operates and develops the Tengiz and Korolev fields. Transportation is carried out based on an agreement between SOCAR and KazMunayGas.
In addition, in March, the pumping of oil from the Kashagan field through the BTC was tested. Azerbaijan has the capacity to transport 15 million tonnes of transit oil per year through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, SOCAR Deputy Vice President Vitaly Beglyarbekov recently noted.
The length of the BTC oil pipeline is 1,768 thousand km, of which 443 km is in Azerbaijan, 249 km is in Georgia, and 1,076 km is in Turkey. The throughput capacity of the pipeline over 50 million tonnes of oil per year.
The project participants are: BP (30.1%); SOCAR (25%); MOL (8.9%); Equinor (8.71%); TPAO (6.53%); Eni (5%); Itochu (3.4%); ExxonMobil (2.5%); INPEX (2.5%), TotalEnergies (5%) and ONGCVidesh (2.36%).
At present, oil from the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli fields and condensate from the Shah Deniz field, as well as oil and condensate from SOCAR, are pumped through the BTC oil pipeline. Oil from other sources is also pumped through the BTC.
In 2022, BTC oil exports amounted to 225.445 million barrels, up 12.6% compared to 2021.