Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
is one of the birthplaces of the
oil industry
The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry or the oil patch, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transportation (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing of petroleum products. The larg ...
and its history is linked to the fortunes of petroleum, with
pipelines used from the late 19th century. The total length of the main pipeline in Azerbaijan is

The centre of the country's oil industry and nexus of its pipelines are at
Baku.
The first oil pipeline was formed in Absheron district in connection with oil production in the country. The total length of the country's oil pipeline is more than , with 80% of it located in the
Absheron Economic Region. Important oil pipelines within the republic include:
Shirvan
Shirvan (from fa, شروان, translit=Shirvān; az, Şirvan; Tat: ''Şirvan''), also spelled as Sharvān, Shirwan, Shervan, Sherwan and Šervān, is a historical Iranian region in the eastern Caucasus, known by this name in both pre-Islam ...
–Baku (former Ali-Bayramly–Baku), ; Shirvan–Dashgil, ; Dubandi-Boyukshor, ; Dubandi-Keshla, ; Dashgil-Sangachal-Keshla, ; Buzovna-Sabunchu, ; and Binagadi-Keshla, .
Pipelines
There had been an oil industry at
Baku since at least the 17th century. Beginning in the 19th century, pipelines were constructed to transport crude oil from the oil fields to the refineries. The first pipeline was constructed in 1878 by Baku Oil Refinery, connecting to Balakhani Mines. The
Baku–Batumi oil pipeline was put into operation in the beginning of the 20th century. Oil and gas field exploitation in Absheron and the Caspian Sea required the construction of new pipelines to Baku. These main oil pipelines are Alibayramly–Baku, Neftdashlari–Baku, and Siyazan–Baku. Natural gas is transported through Garadagh–Agstafa, Garadagh–Baku, Siyazan–Baku, Neftdashlari–Baku, and Zira–Baku pipelines.
The main route options for export pipelines (to Europe) are:
*
Baku-Batum pipeline (1897-1907)
*
Baku–Grozny–Novorossiysk ( the northern route)
*
Baku–Tbilisi–Supsa (the western route)
*
Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan (main oil pipeline named after
Heydar Aliyev
Heydar Alirza oghlu Aliyev ( az, Һејдәр Әлирза оғлу Әлијев, italic=no, Heydər Əlirza oğlu Əliyev, ; , ; 10 May 1923 – 12 December 2003) was a Soviet and Azerbaijani politician who served as the third president of Azer ...
)
* Baku–Tbilisi–Erzurum gas pipeline (a.k.a.
Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline)
Baku–Grozny–Tikhoretsk–Novorossiysk
The agreement for the northern route was signed on February 18, 1996, in Moscow. This pipeline transports Azerbaijani oil into the
Russian Federation
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia
North Asia or Northern Asia, also referred to as Siberia, is the northern region of Asia, which is defined in geographic ...
to the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. The total length of the Baku–Grozny–Tikhoretsk–Novorossiysk (BGTN) oil pipeline is , including in Azerbaijan. The transportation of Azerbaijani oil through the northern route started on October 25, 1997.
A trilateral agreement signed among
AIOC (Azerbaijan International Operating Company),
SOCAR
The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic ( az, Azərbaycan Respublikası Dövlət Neft Şirkəti), largely known as SOCAR is fully state-owned national oil and gas company headquartered in Baku, Azerbaijan. The company produces oil and n ...
(State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic) and
Transneft (the Russian state-owned pipeline company) includes all legal and technical issues of transportation of oil to Novorossiysk. Russia accepted in the agreement that the ownership of the oil remains with the producer, which is part of Azerbaijan's new oil strategy. It was intended to transport 2.5 thousand tons of crude oil per day through Dubandi–Boyukshor–Siyazan–Shirvanovka pipeline. 120 thousand tons of oil had been exported through the northern route by the end of 1997.
Baku–Tbilisi–Supsa
The second pipeline is the western route, Baku–Tbilisi–Supsa, made through an agreement between the presidents of Azerbaijan and
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to t ...
on March 8, 1996. It has a total length of with in Azerbaijan. It transports primary Azeri oil from
Azeri–Chirag–Gunashli fields through Baku. Trilateral contracts were signed among AIOC, SOCAR and the Georgian government. This line was put into operation on April 17, 1999, and exports 15 million tons of oil per year to Western countries
It has lower operating costs than the northern route; transporting a ton of oil to Novorossiysk costs 15.67, but to Supsa is $13.14.
From the Georgian port of Supsa, oil can then be shipped via the Bosporus.
Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan

The Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline transports oil to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad s ...
for export to European markets through the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on th ...
. It has a total length of with in Azerbaijan, in Georgia and in Turkey. Since 2006, 50 million tons of oil per year is exported through this pipeline.
Baku–Tbilisi–Erzurum gas pipeline
A commercial agreement was signed on the sale of natural gas from
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the s ...
to Turkey, carried via pipeline through Azerbaijan and Georgia to the Turkish port of Erzurum in Turkey, from where it will be sold to Europe. The pipeline was planned to be long with a capacity of 30 billion cubic metres per year.
Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline
The Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP) is planned to transport natural gas across Turkey, expanding the capacity from the South Caucasus pipeline. It is to start in Azerbaijan and connect to several pipelines in the European Union. The projected cost of the pipeline and associated infrastructure is 7 billion. The first of four stages was to be completed in 2018. Planned capacity of the pipeline is 16 billion cubic meters in 2020, 23 billion cubic meters in 2023, and 31 billion cubic meters in 2026. During the first period, it is to be sold 10:6 to Europe and Turkey, with the European portion being transported through Turkey to Bulgaria or Greece.
Trans Adriatic gas pipeline
Wholly outside of Azerbaijan, the Trans Adriatic Pipeline project (TAP) would connect TANAP to European pipelines. The planned pipeline would connect to TANAP at the Greece–Turkey border, passing through Greece, Albania, and crossing the
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...
to Italy. In Italy, it is to connect with the "Snam Rete Gas" (SRG) network. The TAP project was chosen as the most direct way to export natural gas from Azerbaijan to European markets. An intergovernmental agreement was signed between Albania, Italy and Greece in February 2013.
References
{{commons category
* http://www.petroleumworld.com/eveditorial-op18102901.htm
Economy of Azerbaijan