BP obscures pipeline delays by shipping in first cargo via different route
For immediate release: 25 May 2006
Contact Mika Minio-Paluello at ++44 (0)7766175641 or ++44 (0)2074033738
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan: 18 months late, $1 billion over cost – and now the first cargo has to be shipped in via a different pipeline
BP is obscuring delays to its flagship BTC pipeline by apparently filling the first tanker with oil previously pumped through a different pipeline and shipped in to Ceyhan, Turkey, the Baku-Ceyhan Campaign has discovered.
After numerous delays, BP and the BTC consortium scheduled the first tanker pick-up from Ceyhan terminal for May 2006. Natiq Aliev, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Energy, stated that the first tanker to lift crude from the BTC pipeline would depart from Ceyhan on May 27 2006. [1]
However, BTC oil has not reached the Ceyhan port in time for the scheduled pick-up due to repeated delays, most likely caused by construction failures, inappropriate use of materials and lack of environmental safeguards. [2]
The Baku Ceyhan Campaign has discovered that BP plan to go ahead with the May 27 cargo, using oil previously shipped in to the Ceyhan terminal on tankers, unloaded and stored ready to be shipped out again.
Mika Minio-Paluello of PLATFORM said, “BP hopes to avoid the humiliation of further delays by juggling oil cargos. But the cause of the problem is that BP forced construction ahead at reckless speed, running rough-shod over construction and environmental standards.”
According to traders, the May 27 cargo will in part be composed of oil pumped through the Baku-Supsa pipeline to the Black Sea, where it was loaded onto ships, carried through the Bosphorus, around Turkey and unloaded in Ceyhan. [3]
At one point scheduled to coincide with the first tanker departure, the official opening ceremony has been put back to July 13.
Nick Hildyard of The Corner House said “If BP are resorting to such clever tricks to meet their construction targets, what does this bode for their human rights, social and environmental targets?”
The Baku Ceyhan Campaign has called a demonstration to mark the departure of the first tanker from Ceyhan terminal: 5pm, Friday May 26, BP HQ, 1 St James Sq, SW1Y. [4]
[1] The Baku-Tibilisi-Ceyhan pipeline flows from Azerbaijan, through Georgia to Turkey. It is being built by a consortium led by BP, and was funded by tax-paers money from the Export Credit Guarantee Department, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Finance Corporation. Also see “First shipment from BTC oil line set for May”, Oil & Gas Journal, 16.02.2006
[2] “A Year late and a Billion Dollars over Cost: BP’s “Flagship” Failure”, Baku Ceyhan Campaign press release, 12.05.06
[3] "BP to load first BTC crude cargo end May", Today.az , 06.05.06
[4] For more information see the website for the Baku Ceyhan Campaign: www.baku.org.uk
