BP Chief, Georgian President Discuss BTC

Lord Browne, the BP chief executive, has been in contact with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili over problems regarding the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline and confirmed that construction at the Borjomi section of the route in western Georgia has stopped, the Guardian reported on July 28.

He said there were “security” issues to be dealt with and also that he had reassurances that work would not be held up.

Construction of the BTC was halted for at least two weeks on July 22 after the Georgian authorities demanded the tightening of environmental security measures along the 17-km long section of the pipeline that passes through the ecologically sensitive Borjomi Valley.

BP leads the international consortium which runs the construction of the BTC, designed to carry Azeri oil, via Georgia and the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, to western markets.

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)