FINALLY!! THE BIG DAY -- A YEAR LATE BUT JUST IN TIME FOR ISRAEL'S ATTACK ON LEBANON

THE BAKU-TBILISI-CEYHAN (BTC) OIL PIPELINE OPENED

Ankara /13/07/ 16:23

The Bacu-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline, the most important regional project in Turkey's history worth $4 billion was officially opened Thursday in Turkish Mediterranean seaport of Ceyhan.

The ceremony marking the launch of the 1.770 kilometers oil pipeline carrying oil from Kazakhstan Kashagan filed in the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean, brought together a number of senior officials, presidents of Azerbaijan and Georgia, Ilham Aliyev and Mikhail Saakashvili, nine prime ministers, four foreign ministers, as well as energy ministers and deputy-ministers of 16 countries.

"This is a historic moment that will change the world's energy map", said John Brown, the executive manager of the pipeline.

USA, the biggest supporter of the project, was represented by three energy deputy ministers - . Clay Sell, deputy secretary of energy, Matthew Bryza, deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, and Ben Sullivan, deputy secretary of economy.

The European Union was represented by Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs. Among attendants were also representatives of shareholder companies in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline Consortium, including representatives of the leading shareholder British Petroleum.

$3,5 million were set apart for the oil pipeline opening ceremony.

Tight security measures included deployment of 10.000 police officers at the Adana airport located within the Incirlik Airbase and on the motorway leading to Ceyhan, where the ceremony took place.


The corridor, developed in cooperation with Azerbaijan, Georgia and the United States, aims at transporting Caucasian and central Asian oil as well as natural gas to western markets through safe alternative routes to the Turkish Straits, the Turkish foreign ministry document said.

At full capacity the pipeline will carry a million barrels of crude oil a day.

The shareholders in the BTC Company are British Petroleum (30.1%), GNKAR (25%), Unocal (8.9%), Statoil (8.71%), TPAO (6.53%, Itochu (3.4%), Amerada Hess (2.36%), ENI (5%), Conoco Phillips (2.5%), Inpex (2.5%), Total (5%).