Engineers may use chemical reagents to increase the throughput capacity on the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline from 1.2 million barrels per day to 1.6 million barrels per day in 2011, the head of the Azerbaijan state oil and Gas company (SOCAR) investments department, Vagif Aliyev said according to Reuters.
"In 2011 the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline can realistically achieve capacity of 1.6 million barrels per day by using chemical reagents and other measures. Increasing capacity takes into account growing production in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, but it is unlikely capacity will be fully loaded and I think it is enough to pump 1.2 million barrels [per day]", Aliyev said.
The Azeri-Chirag-Gunsheli field, which has reserves of over 900 million tons of crude, is the main source of crude for the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline. In 2010, about 900,000 barrels a day was pumped through the pipeline.
A source in SOCAR told Reuters that Tengizchevroil, which suspended supplies of crude from Kazakhstan's Tengiz field to the pipeline in January 2010, has still not regulated tariff policies with the Caspian Pipeline Consortium or a number of tax issues with the Kazakhstan government.
"Tengizchevroil is still using the Baku-Batumi and Baku-Kulevy railroads to deliver part of its crude to Black Sea ports for further export. But we expect that the company will renew deliveries using the pipeline in 2010", the source said.
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