Corrects loading volume for July 19-23 in paragraph 9
Tanker proceeded to load at BTC Ceyhan, port agent says
Loadings resumed after tank found to be clean, port agent says
Reuters reported organic chloride contamination on Tuesday
Number of cargoes affected and severity of contamination, remains unclear
BAKU/MOSCOW/LONDON, July 23 (Reuters) - Azeri BTC crude oil loadings from the Turkish port of Ceyhan resumed on Wednesday, after increased checks linked to a contamination issue delayed loadings in recent days, several industry sources told Reuters.
The Aframax tanker Searanger proceeded to one of the berths at the BTC Ceyhan terminal for loading on Wednesday morning after the storage tank was found to be clean of contaminants, a port agent said.
Searanger arrived at Ceyhan on July 19, port documents showed, alongside, another tanker scheduled for loading yesterday was still sat at anchor near the port awaiting clearance to proceed, the port agent said.
Each cargo was tested before loadings could proceed, a trade source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, after loadings were delayed by the discovery of an excessive level of organic chlorides in some Azeri BTC cargoes.
"BTC Co has been made aware of a potential quality issue related to organic chlorides in some BTC blend loadings. BTC Co is currently assessing the quality of the crude oil across all the facilities along the pipeline," BP, operator of the Azerbaijan and Georgia sections of the BTC pipeline, and the BTC Ceyhan terminal, said.
"While we have not yet completed the assessing activities, we continue loadings at Ceyhan using the crude oil from the tanks that have already been assessed. Export via the BTC pipeline also continues," BP added.
Organic chlorides are compounds used in the industry to boost extraction from oilfields by cleaning oil wells and accelerating the flow of crude, but the compounds must be removed before oil enters pipelines.
Azerbaijan's state energy company SOCAR did not reply to a request for comment.
Searanger is the first loading at BTC Ceyhan since July 19, according to data from global analytics firm Kpler. The July loading schedule showed up to five BTC cargoes were due to load between July 19-23.
The Baku - Tbilisi - Ceyhan route is the first direct pipeline link between the Caspian Sea and the Mediterranean.
Apart from the oil in Azerbaijan, it transports crude from Kazakhstan, the Russian part of the Caspian Sea and Turkmenistan.
A source in Kazakhstan said the loadings to BTC from the Chevron CVX.N-led Tengiz oilfields continue.
Azerbaijan's oil output has been declining for several years after the Azeri-Chirag-Deepwater Gunashli $(ACG.UK)$ complex passed its peak of 50 million metric tons, or one million barrels per day, in 2010. The ACG field is the largest oilfield in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian basin.
A wide-scale contamination issue led to disruptions of crude exports from Russia in 2019.
(Reporting by Nailia Bagirova in Baku and Robert Harvey in London; Writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Jan Harvey and Elaine Hardcastle)
((vladimir.soldatkin@thomsonreuters.com; twitter: @vsoldatkin;))
Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.