Kazakhstan talking with Azerbaijan on transporting up to three mln tonnes of oil per year via Baku-Supsa

ASTANA. Jan 16 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan expects to transport up to three million tonnes of its own oil per year via the Baku-Supsa pipeline, and is currently negotiating with Azerbaijan on the matter, the Kazakh Energy Ministry told Interfax.

"The matter is under discussion with the Azerbaijani side on considering the possibility of transporting Kazakh oil via the Baku-Supsa pipeline at a volume up to three million tonnes per year," the Energy Ministry said in response to Interfax's request.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in May last year that Baku and Astana were in talks to increase Kazakh oil exports via Azerbaijan. Referring to increases in the supply of Kazakh oil via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, the president said that there could be a problem with the quality of the final product, as Kazakh oil differs from Azeri Light.

But there are other options. "If the quality of the final oil in Ceyhan changes, we have an unused pipeline that runs from Baku to the seaport of Supsa, and it can also be involved due to the large market on the Black Sea," Aliyev said.

Kazakhstan began supplying oil via the BTC pipeline last year in a bid to diversify oil export routes. The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR) and KazMunayGas signed an agreement on the transportation of 1.5 million tonnes of Kazakh oil per year on this route. The exports began in April 2023.

The Kazakh Energy Ministry said another 1.5 million tonnes should be pumped via the BTC this year also.