SOCAR Starts Crude Oil Transit from Kazakhstan's Kashagan Field

The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) has begun the transit of crude oil from Kazakhstan's Kashagan field through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline.

The first batch of Kashagan oil, approximately 6,000 tons, was loaded onto a tanker at Aktau port on January 25 and arrived at the Sangachal terminal on January 27. It will now be transported to Ceyhan port via BTC, Azerbaijan's energy giant said in a statement, The Caspian Post reports. The oil is being carried by the Taraz tanker, operated by Kazakhstan’s KazMorTransFlot company. This transportation is made possible by an agreement signed on January 15, 2025, between SOCAR Midstream Operations LLC and KazMunayGaz’s (KMG) subsidiary KMG Trading for the annual transit of 240,000 tons of Kashagan oil.

In March 2024, SOCAR and KMG signed an agreement on gradually increasing oil transit through Azerbaijan's territory. The document envisions increasing supply volumes to up to 2.2 million tons annually.

An agreement signed between SOCAR and KMG in November 2022 provides for the transit of 1.5 million tons of Tengiz field oil annually. In February 2024, an agreement was signed on gradually increasing the volume of Kazakh oil transit through Azerbaijan's territory.

The commencement of Kashagan oil transportation via BTC is not only a manifestation of friendly relations between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan but also serves to strengthen cooperation between the countries.