BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 13. A total of about 559
million metric tons of Azerbaijani oil and condensate have been
exported through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline over
the past 20 years.


According to Azerbaijan's Ministry of Energy, approximately 559
million metric tons of Azerbaijani-origin crude oil and condensate
have been exported since the Heydar Aliyev Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan main
export pipeline was commissioned.


The ministry said the pipeline primarily transports crude oil
from the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) field and condensate from the
Shah Deniz field.


Earlier, bp announced that, effective July 1, 2026, operational
responsibility for the BTC export pipeline was transferred from BP
Exploration (Caspian Sea) Limited to SOCAR Midstream Operations
(SMO), a subsidiary of SOCAR.


The transfer covers all three sections of the BTC pipeline in
Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye. According to bp, SMO has also
assumed responsibility for managing all BTC-related activities, as
well as operator duties for the joint operations previously
performed by bp for the BTC and South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP)
systems.


The BTC pipeline stretches 1,768 kilometers and is designed to
safely transport crude oil from the Caspian region to the
Mediterranean coast.


The project has strengthened economic and political ties among
Azerbaijan, Georgia, Türkiye and Western countries while generating
significant transit revenues for the countries along the route.







Since the project was launched, thousands of social initiatives
have been implemented in more than 550 communities, benefiting over
750,000 people along the pipeline corridor.


The BTC pipeline has a capacity of 1 million barrels of oil per
day. It uses 46-inch, 42-inch and 34-inch diameter pipes and
includes eight pumping stations and 98 block valve stations. Along
its route, the pipeline crosses several mountain ranges, more than
3,000 roads, railways and communication lines, and over 1,500 water
bodies, including the Ceyhan River, which is up to 500 meters
wide.


Construction of the BTC pipeline, regarded as one of the largest
and most complex engineering projects of its time, lasted four
years—from project approval in July 2002 to completion in May 2006.
At peak construction, about 22,000 people worked on the project,
around 80% of whom were local employees.


The first shipment of oil was loaded onto the tanker British
Hawthorn at the Ceyhan Terminal on June 4, 2006.


Today, the BTC pipeline transports crude oil from the
Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli field, condensate from Shah Deniz, as well as
oil and condensate from other Caspian producers, including supplies
from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and additional volumes produced by
SOCAR.