BTC Pipeline

Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline

Described in Azerbaijan as "the project of the century", the BTC pipeline is certainly one of the biggest engineering projects of the last decade, and also one of the most politically significant. At 1,093 miles it is the second longest oil pipeline in the world, and its construction marked the return of Western oil companies, in particular BP, to the Caspian oil basin from which they had been excluded during the Soviet era. The project has...
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Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline

Described in Azerbaijan as "the project of the century", the BTC pipeline is certainly one of the biggest engineering projects of the last decade, and also one of the most politically significant. At 1,093 miles it is the second longest oil pipeline in the world, and its construction marked the return of Western oil companies, in particular BP, to the Caspian oil basin from which they had been excluded during the Soviet era. The project has not been without controversy. Environmentalists have criticised the pipeline's route through the Borjomi national park in Georgia; the region is highly seismic, suffering regular earthquakes; the pipeline offers an attractive target for terrorist attacks in the volatile Caucuses region; and there are concerns that the oil money that could benefit the impoverished region will simply be siphoned off by corrupt officials. But for supporters it is, so far at least, a success. The oil has begun to flow and by 2009 is projected to transport 1 million barrels of oil per day; and for Western governments the bonus is that this is oil that is neither extracted in the Middle East, nor transported through Russia.
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