BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 1. The
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Company (BTC Co) today announced that,
effective 1 July 2026, operatorship of the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan
(BTC) oil export pipeline will transfer from BP Exploration
(Caspian Sea) Limited (bp) to SOCAR Midstream Operations LLC (SMO),
a wholly owned subsidiary of SOCAR.
bp's press service released information in this regard.
The transfer applies across all three BTC pipeline sections —
Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye. In addition, the management of BTC
pipeline activities and operatorship of common activities relating
to both the BTC and South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP) systems,
currently undertaken by bp, will also transfer to SMO.
This transition is in line with the relevant agreements
underpinning the BTC project and concluded as part of the final
readiness decision.
The scope of the transfer includes all dedicated BTC facilities
and activities, as well as BTC/SCP joint activities across the
three countries, excluding those located within the Sangachal
terminal.
Operatorship of the Sangachal terminal remains unchanged and
will continue under bp.
The shareholding structure of BTC Co. also remains
unchanged.
"Today’s announcement marks an important milestone for the BTC
project. We are proud of bp’s long-standing role as a safe,
reliable and high performing operator - leading the pipeline’s more
than three years of exceptionally large-scale and technically
complex construction across the three transit countries and
ensuring its efficient and secure operation for over two decades.
Over that time, BTC has strengthened energy security through
reliable exports to global markets. We are confident that SOCAR
will uphold the same high standards of safety, reliability and
operational excellence in BTC operations and look forward to
continuing our close, long-term partnership with SOCAR and our
co-venturers as a shareholder in BTC and SCP. We would also like to
thank the BTC Co. Board and all our co-venturers for their
continued support, collaboration and trust throughout bp’s
operatorship of the system," Gio Cristofoli, bp’s regional
president for the Caspian, Central Asia and Türkiye, said.
bp remains the operator of the Azeri–Chirag–Gunashli (ACG) and
Shah Deniz fields, as well as other upstream projects in the
Caspian, including the Karabagh field development, the ADUA and
Shafag-Asiman exploration projects.
"The Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline stands as a lasting testament
to Azerbaijan’s visionary energy strategy, strong international
partnership and shared commitment to long-term cooperation. Over
the past two decades, BTC has made a significant contribution to
Azerbaijan’s sustainable development, strengthened regional
cooperation and enhanced global energy security. The transfer of
operatorship of BTC, together with the common operatorship of both
the BTC and South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP) systems, to SOCAR marks
an important milestone that reflects the company’s growing
expertise in managing world-class energy infrastructure. SOCAR
remains fully committed to ensuring the safe, reliable and
efficient operation of this strategic energy corridor, further
reinforcing its contribution to regional and global energy
security," Rovshan Najaf, President of SOCAR, said.
Earlier, and as provided for under the relevant agreements,
effective 8 June 2026, the Western Route Export Pipeline (WREP)
facilities in Azerbaijan and Georgia were returned to the entities
acting on behalf of the Governments of Azerbaijan (SMO) and Georgia
(the Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation – GOGC).
SOCAR Midstream Gas Operations LLC (SOCAR MGO) has been the
commercial operator of SCP since 2015 and the technical operator
since 2021, reflecting the strong collaboration between SOCAR and
bp in managing shared BTC and SCP activities.
bp and SOCAR have been working closely to ensure a safe and
orderly transfer of all facilities and related activities covered
by the operatorship transition, while maintaining reliable and
uninterrupted pipeline operations throughout.
BTC key facts and figures
- The 1768 km long BTC was designed to export crude oil safely
and responsibly from the Caspian to the Mediterranean. - Starting from the construction phase, BTC has made a positive
difference by bringing significant benefits to the region. - BTC creates substantial revenues for the transit countries and
continues to help strengthen economic and political links between
Azerbaijan, Georgia, Türkiye and the West. - Since the start of the pipeline project BTC Co. has worked with
more than 550 communities (more than 750,000 people) along the
length of the pipeline and has implemented thousands of social
initiatives and these will continue in the future. - The current throughput capacity of BTC is 1 million barrels of
oil per day. - The pipeline uses 46/42/34” diameter pipe. It has eight pump
stations and 98 valve stations across the three transit
countries. - The pipeline crosses several mountain ranges climbing to a high
point of 2,830 metres before returning to sea level at Ceyhan,
3,000 roads, railways, and utility lines – both overground and
underground – and more than 1,500 watercourses up to 500 metres
wide in the case of the Ceyhan River in Türkiye. - Considered as one of the biggest and most complex engineering
endeavours of its time in the world, BTC’s construction took four
years to complete - it was sanctioned in July 2002 and was
completed in May 2006. The construction activities involved 22,000
people at the peak (of which almost 80% were national employees),
with more than 110 million man-hours spent and 220,000 joints of
pipe welded together. - The first tanker with BTC oil was lifted from Ceyhan on 4 June
2006 when the first cargo of about 600,000 barrels of
Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli crude was loaded onto the British Hawthorn
and sailed away from the new Ceyhan Marine Terminal. - To date, BTC has carried a total of more than 4.7 billion
barrels (about 630 million tonnes) of crude oil loaded on 6,271
tankers and sent to world markets. - The BTC pipeline currently carries mainly ACG crude oil and
Shah Deniz condensate from Azerbaijan. In addition, other volumes
of Caspian regional crude oil and condensate (Kazakhstan,
Turkmenistan, other SOCAR volumes produced in Azerbaijan) continue
to be transported via BTC.
Further information:
Tamam Bayatly at bp’s press office in Baku, telephone: (+994 12)
525 58 95;
Emin Sevdimaliyev - SOCAR press secretary, (+994 50) 633 29 80
