Azerbaijan's BTC oil exports down 5.9% in Jan–July amid contamination issue

 Azerbaijan's crude oil exports via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline fell 5.9% year-on-year to 16.2 million metric tons in the January–July period, official data showed, as contamination with organic chloride disrupted shipments.

The BTC pipeline, operated by BP  and running through Georgia to Turkey, exports oil from the Azeri, Chirag and Guneshli (ACG) fields. The decline reflects both the long-term depletion of Azerbaijan’s oil reserves and recent quality concerns.

Last month, traces of organic chloride — a chemical used to enhance extraction but which must be removed before pipeline transport — were detected in Azeri BTC crude cargoes, driving price differentials to a four-year low and causing delays in loading schedules.

The contamination disrupted exports from Turkey's Ceyhan port, where loadings briefly paused before resuming. Loadings totalled 423,000 barrels per day (bpd) in July, well below the 561,000 bpd planned, according to Kpler analytics.

Azerbaijan’s total oil transit stood at 21.6 million tons over the seven-month period, with 75% of volumes moving through the BTC. Transit oil from third countries such as Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan also declined — down to 2.645 million tons from 3.214 million tons a year earlier, the data showed.

The extent of the contamination and its impact on buyers remain unclear.

N.Tebrizli