Baku - Tbilisi - Ceyhan Pipeline Construction Will Start Next March

ISTANBUL (A.A) - 26.06.2002 - BP Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline Project General Director Michael Townshend said on Wednesday that the construction of the project would probably start next March.
Developments in energy in Asia and East Mediterranean regions were taken up on the second day of the ''Story of Three Seas: International Energy Conference.'' The session was closed to the press.
Townshend told reporters that the project would be ready for full operation at the beginning of 2005.
Detailed engineering works of the Baku-Tibilisi-Ceyhan Project was to be completed, Townshend said.
Townshend noted that the cost of the project was below 3 billion U.S. dollars and said that 30 percent of the finance would be met from own funds while 70 percent would be met by loan.
They needed 2 billion U.S. dollars of finance, Townshend stated.
Townshend said that they were holding contacts with the key creditors of the project including IFC, European Investment and Development Bank, credit agencies and commercial banks.
They did not see any reason not to take the funds at the beginning of next year, Townshend noted.
Townshend pointed out that pipes would start to be transported at the end of this year and they would start constructing roads and railways at the same time.
They would start the construction of the pipeline next March, Townshend said.
Townshend stated that the works would continue till mid-2004 and then, they would start the testing process and flow oil from the pipeline.
They would need 10 million barrels of oil to fill the pipeline, Townshed said and noted that the project would be ready for full operation at the beginning of 2005.
Upon a question, Townshend said that they did not see any risks in the project but that they could face some technical problems since the project was being implemented in a very rough geography.