ANKARA, Turkey, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Turkish pipeline company BOTAS lost more than $200 million since the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline went into operation, reports said.
A confidential report by the Turkish Cabinet obtained by Turkish newspaper Vatan said BOTAS International Ltd. lost money because of short- and long-term loans related to BTC, one of the longest oil pipelines in the world.
The report blames a shortage of oil flowing through the pipeline from Azerbaijan and pricing differences for the loss, the Azeri Press Agency reports.
BP, the operator of BTC, announced earlier this month it loaded its 1,000th tanker of oil from BTC shipments. Oil from BTC comes primarily from the offshore Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli field in the Azeri waters of the Caspian Sea.
BTC exports oil at a rate of around 850,000 barrels per day. The pipeline went into service in 2006. Ankara had said it expected to get around $300 million per year from the pipeline.
