Turkey seeks Kazakh oil to nearly double BTC pipeline flow to Ceyhan

September 11, 2026 at 09:38 PM2 min

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Turkey's Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline currently carries about 600,000 barrels per day, roughly half its 1 million bpd design capacity. Ankara seeks additional Central Asian crude, including from Kazakhstan, to nearly double throughput. The plan comes as Azerbaijani output declines, leaving more spare capacity on the route.

Key Facts

The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline currently transports about 600,000 barrels per day, against a design capacity of roughly 1 million barrels per day.
In 2025, BTC throughput fell 7.8% to 27.179 million tonnes, with Kazakh and Turkmen transit volumes down 22.2% to 4.122 million tonnes.
SOCAR says BTC capacity was raised to 1.2 million barrels per day in 2009 using drag-reducing additives, though 1 million bpd remains the baseline design figure.
Azerbaijani crude accounted for 84.8% of BTC volumes in 2025, while Kazakh and Turkmen transit oil made up 15.2%.

Pipeline Underutilisation

Turkey's Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline is running at 500,000–600,000 barrels per day, or 50–60% of its nominal capacity. Turkish operator BOTAŞ International notes the line was designed to carry about 50 million tonnes per year, equivalent to roughly 1 million barrels per day. In 2025, BTC transported 27.18 million tonnes, slightly more than half of its nominal 50 million tonne capacity. Azerbaijan's State Statistics Committee reported 2025 throughput of 27.179 million tonnes, down 7.8% from the previous year.

Central Asian Supply

Bayraktar said additional supplies from Central Asia are needed to more fully load Turkey's pipeline infrastructure. He separately mentioned the possibility of increasing transportation of Kazakh oil. In 2025, Kazakh and Turkmen transit volumes through BTC totalled 4.122 million tonnes, or 15.2% of all throughput. Azerbaijani volumes fell 4.6% last year, while transit volumes dropped 22.2%.

Capacity Constraints

SOCAR states that BTC capacity was increased to 1.2 million barrels per day in 2009 through drag-reducing additives. The 1 million barrel per day figure remains the baseline design capacity used by Turkish officials in discussions on fuller utilisation. Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli crude, Shah Deniz condensate and other SOCAR volumes still form the core of BTC loadings. Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli production peaked in 2010 and has been gradually declining since, contributing to spare capacity on the route.