Ceyhan loadings of BTC pipeline oil could begin within two days

ISTANBUL

Türkiye’s Ceyhan port could resume loading oil from the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline in one or two days using “manual” procedures, a Turkish official and a shipping source have said.

The terminal, on Türkiye’s Mediterranean coast, was damaged in the devastating earthquakes that hit the country on Feb. 6.

It is the storage and loading point for the BTC pipeline which carries oil from Azerbaijan as well as the Kirkuk pipeline from Iraq.

The Kirkuk pipeline resumed flows on Feb. 7 evening and a tanker docked at Ceyhan to load that day. A third tanker loaded on Feb. 10.

However, BP Azerbaijan declared force majeure on loadings of Azeri crude from Ceyhan on Feb. 8.

The control room for BTC pipeline loadings there was damaged, the Turkish official said, but added loadings were expected to resume “manually” while the control room is repaired.

Loadings could begin within a day or two days, a shipping source said, quoting information received from the terminal.

An official and an industry source had said on Feb. 10 that damage assessment and repairs were underway at Ceyhan and that exports from the BTC pipeline could resume from today unless problems were found.