According to the relevant agreements on pipeline management, it is envisaged that the operatorship of oil and gas export pipelines will be transferred to the relevant government or government agencies within the periods previously agreed upon in those agreements, said Tamam Bayatli, the head of the press service of BP-Azerbaijan, in response to APA-Economics' inquiry, while commenting on the information spread in the Georgian press that BP will transfer the operatorship of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Supsa pipelines.
According to her, it is precisely under these agreements that the operatorship of the South Caucasus Pipeline was transferred to SOCAR in both Azerbaijan and Georgia in 2021: "Also, according to these agreements, the operatorship of the Western Export Pipeline (Baku-Supsa) and Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipelines is envisaged to be transferred to the relevant agencies in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye within the periods previously agreed upon. Currently, discussions are underway with the relevant agencies to plan the necessary work in this direction in a timely manner."
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16:31
BP is negotiating the transfer of the role of operator of the Baku-Supsa and Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipelines, the company's Georgian representative office told "Business Media", APA's local bureau reports.
It was reported that, in accordance with the existing contracts, BP is negotiating with the relevant parties on the transfer of the operatorship of the pipeline system. The main direction of the negotiations is the return of the facilities of the Baku-Supsa oil pipeline located in Georgia to the Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation or its designated operator and the transfer of the functions of the manager, general operator of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the South Caucasus Oil Pipeline (SCP) to "SOCAR Midstream".
Despite the decommissioning of the two pipelines passing through Georgia, BP remains a shareholder of BTC and SCP. The company owns 30.1% of BTC shares and 29.99% of SCP shares.
The completion of the transfer of operator functions is planned for the end of the first half of 2026, subject to an agreement.
It was noted that the transfer of the operator role does not apply to the Sangachal terminal. After the transfer of the operator function to the relevant parties, BP will retain the role of operator of the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli, Shah Deniz projects and the Sangachal terminal, and will continue to participate as a shareholder in the BTC and SCP projects.
After the transfer of the operator role in Georgia, BP will conduct an assessment, which will take some time.
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