The Export-Import Bank of the US has approved a $160 million long-term guarantee to support the export of US equipment and services for construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline project (BTCP), a network that extends from Azerbaijan and Georgia to Turkey.
The 1,760-kilometer pipeline, with a capacity of one million barrels per day, will transport crude oil from the Sangachal terminal near Baku, Azerbaijan, through Georgia to a marine export terminal on the Mediterranean Sea at Ceyhan, Turkey.
"This pipeline will benefit many countries as it allows direct export of oil from the Caspian Sea region to Western markets via the Mediterranean," said Ex-Im Bank Chairman, Philip Merrill. US companies will supply engineering services, control systems and pump systems for the project.
BTCP is owned by 11 sponsors, including three from the United States, which are major oil companies that are investing in the project. BP of the United Kingdom and the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan together account for more than 55 percent of the project company's ownership. — (menareport.com)
© 2004 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
