The Board of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has agreed to invest in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, a network that extends from Azerbaijan and Georgia to Turkey.
IFC will set up a $125 million loan for its own account and a loan of up to $125 million in commercial syndication to the pipeline project. The total cost of BTC is approximately $3.6 billion.
The BTC pipeline stretches 1,760 kilometers and has a capacity of one million barrels per day. The pipeline will extend from the ACG field through Azerbaijan and Georgia, to a terminal at Ceyhan on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey.
Turkey is expected to earn $1.5 billion over the next 2o years from pipeline and terminal operations, transit fees, and upstream investments. Some 10,000 jobs are expected to be created during construction and around 850 during operations. Indirect jobs are also expected through local sourcing and additional economic activities.
The planned pipeline is backed by international oil majors such as BP, Unocal, Statoil, Turkiye Petroleum and ENI. Slated for completion in 2005, it would operate for at least 40 years. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
