Starting Tomorrow, Azerbaijan Will Resume Oil Exports Via the Baku-Novorossiysk Pipeline

Starting February 15, Azerbaijani oil will be transported via the Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline, according to a contract signed between Russian Transneft and Azerbaijani SOCAR. This was reported by the specialized website Neftegaz.ru.

It is planned to transport 1 million tons of oil in 2021. Since the beginning of the year, Baku had been routing all its oil through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. Previously, only a minimal quantity of Azerbaijani oil—613 thousand tons out of a total of 28.4 million tons—was transported via the northern pipeline.

The site notes that the Novorossiysk route is not advantageous for Baku. Transneft and SOCAR have repeatedly clashed over transportation tariffs, with SOCAR considering them to be high. Additionally, the Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline carries Urals type oil, which is cheaper, and its price only increases when mixed with Azerbaijani oil. This means that Baku also incurs losses due to the depreciation of its oil.