Kazakhstan expects rising oil flows via Baku-Tbilisi-CeyhanKazakhstan expects growing transit volumes along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) as it pursues alternative export routes, a senior executive with a KazMunayGas subsidiary said Thursday."The BTC link, which is part of the TITR, or Middle Corridor, already has the technical capacity to ship up to 5 million tonnes of Kazakh crude per year and ranks among Kazakhstan's strategic priorities," Kuanysh Keskinbayev, commercial director of KMG Kashagan B.V., said."I think BTC utilization will increase in the near future," Keskinbayev told the second Caspian and Central Asian Oil Logistics and Trade Forum in Baku. He cautioned, however, that expanding throughput will require investment in Aktau's port infrastructure, the tanker fleet and related facilities.About 80% of Kazakh oil currently moves through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium. Remaining volumes go via the Russian ports of Novorossiysk and Ust-Luga, as well as other routes including the Druzhba pipeline to Germany, where Keskinbayev said political restrictions are now hampering diversification. "That may push more volume through the Middle Corridor," he added.Shipping via BTC carries higher costs, he acknowledged, but part of that is recovered by the premium that Azeri crude commands over the CPC Blend. "The net revenue difference isn't that dramatic, even though CPC remains the more convenient option. BTC is gaining importance because from a regulatory standpoint it's one of the few routes operating without major disruptions."Keskinbayev said Kazakhstan and international partners continue working to keep CPC stable after recent weather-related problems and a temporary loss of some capacity. "The pipeline is now running at full capacity, and we expect things to stay more stable, especially through the winter," he said.On the prospect of using the Baku-Supsa pipeline for Kazakh crude, Keskinbayev was less optimistic. "The costs there are significantly higher. The oil prices similarly to CPC Blend, and compared with BTC, the current Supsa setup just doesn't work."Taghi Taghizade, Chief Commercial Officer of SOCAR Trading, part of Azerbaijan's state oil company SOCAR, described BTC as the safest and most valuable export outlet for the Caspian region."Kazakh colleagues, despite perfectly valid concerns about high costs from cross-Caspian shipping, internal logistics and the leg to Ceyhan, still see BTC as a worthy alternative to existing routes," Taghizade said, adding that Kazakh partners put transportation costs along BTC at roughly $90 per tonne.The 1,770-kilometer BTC pipeline carries crude from the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli block, condensate from Shah Deniz and SOCAR's own oil, as well as barrels from other Caspian littoral states including Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Its capacity stands at more than 50 million tonnes per year. (ICE ALMATY)

Fonte notizia: INTERFAX