SOCAR launches transit of oil from Kazakhstan’s Kashagan field through BTC

The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) has started the transit of crude oil produced at Kazakhstan's Kashagan field through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline.

“The first batch of oil from the Kashagan field, loaded on a tanker in the port of Aktau on January 25, is about 6,000 tonnes. The cargo arrived at Sangachal terminal on January 27 and will be transported via BTC to Ceyhan port. The first consignment is transported on the tanker Taraz, operated by the Kazakh company KazMorTransFlot,” SOCAR told Caliber.Az on January 30.

Reportedly, this transit became possible after signing an agreement between SOCAR subsidiary SOCAR - SOCAR Midstream Operations LLC and KazMunaiGas (KMG) subsidiary KMG Trading on January 15, 2025 on the transit of 240,000 tonnes of oil Kashagan per year.

Recall that in March 2024, SOCAR and KMG signed an agreement on a phased increase in oil transit through the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The document provides for an increase in the volume of deliveries up to 2.2 million tonnes per year.

The agreement signed between SOCAR and KMG in November 2022 provides for the transit of 1.5 million tonnes of oil from the Tengiz field per year. In February 2024, an agreement was signed to gradually increase the volume of Kazakh oil transit through Azerbaijan.

The BTC pipeline is a vital infrastructure that connects the Caspian region to international markets, bypassing Russia and Iran. By transiting Kazakh oil, Azerbaijan enhances its geopolitical and economic position in the region. The BTC pipeline is crucial not only for Kazakh oil but also for broader energy transit from Central Asia to Europe.

By Khagan Isayev