Turkish president: Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline “one of the most successful energy initiatives”

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday called the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline project linking Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye across the South Caucasus "one of the most successful energy initiatives in the world".

Turkish Anadolu agency cited Erdoğan in his comments at the summit of the Organisation of Turkic States in Uzbekistan, where he told participants the pipeline served as an example of his country’s initiatives to ensure its own energy security while also contributing to purpose in the wider region “for a long time”.

The 1,768 km-long Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline is one of the longest in the world. It runs over a distance of 443 km through Azerbaijan, 249 km through Georgia and 1,076 km through Türkiye to the Ceyhan Marine Terminal. 

With a capacity of exporting one million barrels of oil per day, it is designed to meet export requirements of the full field development of the Azeri–Chirag–Gunashli oil field.

Pump station of Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan in Georgia. Photo: British Petroleum

Construction of the BTC pipeline in Georgia was completed in 2005, with the infrastructure becoming fully operational in 2006.

Erdoğan also drew attention to the project of the Southern Gas Corridor, designed as the fourth artery of gas supply to Europe through intended transportation of gas from the Shah Deniz field in Azerbaijan to Europe via Georgia and Türkiye.

“This pipeline, of which the Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline is an important component, can be expanded with additional gas supplies. The Caspian Sea is the first thing that comes to mind when discussing gas supplies via this route”, the president said.