Alexander Ershov: BTC has been successfully integrated into regional oil supplies

The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline is a large and independent structure, well integrated into regional oil supplies, Alexander Ershov, editor-in-chief of commodity markets and energy news at Thomson Reuters' Moscow bureau, said at the "Caspian & Central Asia – Refining, Petrochemicals, Trading and Logistics" event in Baku, Report informs.

Referring to the recent organic chloride pollution crisis, he recalled that Transneft faced a similar situation in 2019: "BTC successfully dealt with the pollution wave and suffered minimal losses, as it is a large and independent structure, well integrated into regional oil supplies."

According to him, diversification across various sectors deserves special attention: "This primarily concerns natural gas, including the latest volumes supplied by Azerbaijan to Syria. This includes retail sales. At the same time, SOCAR has signed a deal to acquire a large network of gas stations in Italy."

Ershov emphasized that the Caspian region is gradually becoming a key transit hub for major hydrocarbon suppliers, and increasing transit capacity enhances energy independence.