Middle East Economic Survey

VOL. LIII

No 50

13-Dec-2010

CASPIAN

BTC Shutdown Blamed On Illegal Siphoning

Turkeys state-owned pipeline company Botas reported on 7 December a leak in the Turkish section of the 1.2mn b/d capacity Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline near the northeastern city of Erzurum. Initial reports attributed the leak to the illegal siphoning of crude oil from the pipeline. A spokesman for pipeline operator BP said that the repairs would be finished on 8 December.