TBILISI, October 3 – Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have agreed to boost oil shipments along the Aktau–Baku–Ceyhan route, raising export volumes to 1.7 million tons in 2025.
The move will strengthen ties between Baku and Astana and forms part of a bigger geopolitical picture of Caspian energy bypassing Russia, finding its way to a Europe hungry for energy while trying to diversify supplies after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The deal was announced after a meeting between Kazakh Energy Minister Erlan Akhenzhenov and his Azerbaijani counterpart Parviz Shahbazov at Kazenergy Week in Astana, as reported by BPN.
The pipeline link is becoming a key artery for Kazakh crude. In 2023, 1.06 million tons were shipped this way, rising to 1.4 million tons in 2024. Officials now plan another sharp jump, reflecting the corridor’s growing role as Central Asia seeks routes bypassing Russia.
The oil moves from Kazakhstan’s Caspian port of Aktau across the sea to Baku, where it enters the 1,768-kilometer Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline. From there it flows to Turkey’s Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, a strategic export hub linking Caspian resources to world markets.
Therefore, the development also strengthens Turkey’s role as the transit gate to global markets.
The BTC line, operated by a BP-led consortium that includes SOCAR, Eni, TotalEnergies and others, can pump 1.2 million barrels per day, with capacity expandable to 2.2 million. Until now it has mainly carried Azerbaijani oil from the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli fields, plus Shah Deniz condensate. But growing Kazakh volumes are reshaping its profile.
Both ministers also discussed developing a “Caspian green energy corridor,” highlighting that oil and renewables now move hand in hand in regional diplomacy.
