President of the Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR Natik Aliyev told reporters on November 29 that construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline will cost around USD 4 billion, which is 350-400 million more than originally expected, AFP and Interfax news agencies reported.
Natik Aliyev cited delays in construction, rising oil prices and campaigns by environmental groups opposing the planned pipeline route as a reasons behind the cost increas.
This increased cost of the BTC pipeline prompted ExxonMobil to announce last week that it will not participate in the BTC and instead signed a five-year contract with the Azpetrol company to export 10 million tons of Azeri oil by rail from Baku to the Georgian port of Batumi.
AFP reported that the Russian giant LUKOil has refused to use BTC as well, also citing the high cost of the project as their reasoning.