Kazakhstan to join Baku-Supsa oil line

ASTANA, Kazakhstan, July 9 (UPI) -- Kazakhstan wants to transport oil through the Baku-Supsa Pipeline running through Azerbaijan and Georgia to the Supsa terminal in the Black Sea, officials said.

Azerbaijani Ambassador to Kazakhstan Latif Gandilov said the pipeline would transport light crude from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli fields located about 75 miles off the coast of Azerbaijan in the Caspian Sea, the Trend Capital News Agency reported Wednesday.

Gandilov said Kazakhstan expressed interest also in building a new oil pipeline from the Baku ports in Azerbaijan to the Georgian Batumi ports in the Black Sea.

BP runs operations at the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli fields, which boast an estimated 5 billion barrels of recoverable oil resources.

Azerbaijani oil from the fields was transported through the 514-mile Baku-Supsa line until 2006 when it was closed for repairs. Transportation from Azerbaijan has resumed, however.