Minister: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan improve economic terms for oil transit via BTC

Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are working to improve the economic terms for transporting Kazakh oil via the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, Kazakhstan’s energy minister has said.

Speaking at a year-end briefing, Yerlan Akkenzhenov said Kazakhstan continues to assess all existing export routes, with cost-effectiveness remaining the key factor in choosing destinations, Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.

He said the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) route remains the most economically efficient option within Kazakhstan’s oil export structure, while exports to China rank second, also showing stable economic performance.

Turning to the BTC pipeline, Akkenzhenov said work is underway with Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR to improve its economic parameters for the transit of Kazakh oil.

He added that, from an economic standpoint, the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars rail route would be less competitive than the BTC pipeline.

However, the minister stressed that Kazakhstan does not rule out using additional routes if needed.

“If necessary, we will adjust the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars and Baku–Supsa routes, as well as other existing corridors,” he said.

Akkenzhenov said Kazakhstan continues to work across all available oil transportation routes, taking into account economic viability and current market conditions.

According to the minister, Kazakhstan is set to ship about 1.5 million tonnes of oil via the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline by the end of 2025, in line with plans agreed at the start of the year.

He stressed that Kazakhstan remains on track to meet the approved target, with no departures from the plan so far, and added that the same volume of 1.5 million tonnes is planned for 2026, with hopes of exceeding that level.

In the longer term, agreements between Kazakhstan’s KazMunayGas and Azerbaijan’s SOCAR provide for oil shipments of up to 2.2 million tonnes a year through the BTC pipeline.

By Aghakazim Guliyev