bp has been operating in Georgia for 25 years

bp history in Georgia

In 1994, a Production Sharing Agreement was awarded to a bp-led consortium, Azerbaijan International Operating Company (AIOC), for the development of the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) oil field off the coast of Azerbaijan in the Caspian Sea

So, bp first came to Georgia in 1996 when work began on the Chirag oil field and plans were laid for the ‘Early Oil Project', including the Western Route Export Pipeline (WREP). This runs from Baku to the Georgian Black Sea port of Supsa, and was the first of three major BP-led projects in Georgia. The Supsa terminal was opened in April 1999 when the first tanker of oil departed for global markets.

The project provided employment for many Georgians, and also paid compensation to those whose land was required temporarily during the construction of the pipeline.The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline is a project of regional significance as it represents the first direct link between the Caspian and the Mediterranean which avoids the congested Bosphorus straits in Turkey.

The route for the pipeline was defined in 2002, and construction began in spring 2003. It was completed in Georgia in 2005 and the first export from the Ceyhan terminal in Turkey was in June 2006. The community investment programmes along the BTC and SCP pipeline routes began in 2004 and continues during pipeline operations.

One of the largest hydrocarbon discoveries in recent years, the Shah Deniz gas field was confirmed in 1999.The intergovernmental agreement between Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey for the transit, transport and sale of natural gas was signed in 2001 and the stage one development of the field was sanctioned in 2003.

The export route - the South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP) - was constructed in the same corridor as the BTC pipeline through its passage in Georgia. SCP was commissioned in December 2006 and represents an important new source of gas supply for Georgia, the region and the European market.