Kazakhstan Renews Oil Exports Through Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan Route

Kazakhstan’s national oil company, KazMunayGas, has resumed crude oil exports through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline.

On September 13, a shipment of 8,800 tons of Kashagan crude departed from the port of Aktau en route to the BTC pipeline. The next consignment is scheduled for September 20, The Caspian Post reports via KazMunayGas.

Exports along this route were suspended in August 2025 after traces of organic chlorides were detected in some batches of Azerbaijani crude transported through the pipeline.

According to KazMunayGas, the volume of Kazakhstan’s oil transported via the BTC in the first eight months of 2025 amounted to 0.9 million tons.

Earlier in July, several media outlets, citing industry sources, reported excessive levels of organic chlorides in certain batches of Azeri Light crude, substances commonly used to increase oil production.

On July 24, bp-Azerbaijan stated that quality checks at all BTC facilities confirmed the crude met specification requirements. The company explained that the chlorides had been detected in a few storage tanks at the Turkish port of Ceyhan.

The BTC pipeline, with an annual capacity of over 50 million tons, transports crude from the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli oilfields, condensate from Shah Deniz, as well as oil from SOCAR and other producers across the Caspian region.