The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline is delayed

Just a short note for those who were expecting the supply from the Caspian to begin appearing through the BTC pipeline in Ceyhan about now. Argus has a story that the pipeline will not begin deliveries until May 2006, at the earliest.
The BTC pipeline is also being filled with "technical" crude - oil required to fill the line ahead of operational start-up - too slowly, according to observers. Between May, when technical crude deliveries started, and by 18 November the line had only received 4mn bl out of a total 10mn bl required, BP says. Oil has now entered the Turkish section of the pipeline, says a BP spokesman.

No impact on output
BP says the BTC delay will have no impact on offshore production by the AIOC consortium, which is developing Azerbaijan's Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli block in the Caspian Sea. The BP-led AIOC group has now increased production to 380,000 b/d in the expectation of being able to start exports through the BTC line.

For the time being, AIOC continues to use the Georgian ports of Supsa and Batumi on the Black Sea for exports of Azeri Light, with around 253,000 b/d of crude due to go through these two outlets this month. Remaining AIOC output is going into the BTC pipeline as line-fill.

The recently confirmed BTC delay is just the latest in a series of postponements. The first crude shipment from Ceyhan was originally supposed to have taken place in May last year. In the longer term, the BTC line is also set to handle Kazakh crude - primarily from the offshore Kashagan field, where production is supposed to start in 2008 - although Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have yet to sign an inter-governmental agreement on the issue.

One more reason why I think Deffeyes is likely correct.  Those who are predicting the peak is not until 2006 or 2008 are assuming that all these new projects will come online as scheduled.  They rarely do.  
I think after some time we will be grateful they didn't.
I am shocked, shocked I tell you, that the BTC pipeline is delayed further. This article had mentioned February 2006 when I ran across it a few weeks back. This pipeline is buried so that assorted terrorists, dissidents and other ne'er-do-wells do not blow it up.
thank god it's buried!!

 " unlike many other pipelines around the world, BTC will be fully buried and its pumping stations will be surrounded by walls and fences."

it's good to know that terrorists don't have RPG's or even backhoes! fences, real fences you say !


If they park a large truck bomb on top of the thing, they wouldn't even need a backhoe.

And I should add that since it is buried, repairs will be much more difficult.