BP Takes Quality Samples of BTC Oil Before Each Loading at Terminal

BP, the operator of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline, said on Wednesday it was continuing its extensive quality assessment of Azeri BTC oil by taking samples before each loading at the terminal.

Organic chloride contamination in Azeri BTC crude cargoes was discovered last week, sending price differentials to a four-year low and causing several days' delay in loadings from Turkey's BTC Ceyhan terminal.

Delays have been caused in part by the additional testing, sources told Reuters.

After enough oil to form a cargo arrives in the shore tank at the BTC Ceyhan terminal, it is tested and the results are shown to the charterers of vessels waiting to load at the port for approval or rejection, a port agent explained on Wednesday.

It remains unclear how many Azeri crude cargoes in total have been affected by organic chloride contamination. So far, Austria's OMV and Italy's Eni have confirmed cargoes they had purchased were contaminated.

BP also said that it was working closely with Azerbaijan's Socar to manage the off-spec crude in storage at the terminal, while export operations are continuing.

A total of six cargoes of Azeri crude have loaded since the organic chloride contamination was first reported on July 22, according to data from analytics firm Kpler.

(Reuters)