Sanzhar Zharkeshov: Kazakhstan intends to increase oil transit via BTC to 12M barrels per year

Kazakhstan plans to increase oil exports via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline to 12 million barrels per year (up to 1.6 million tons per year – ed.), Kazakhstan's Deputy Minister of Energy, Sanzhar Zharkeshov, told Report.

According to him, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are actively cooperating in the energy sector, including the transit of Kazakh oil via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan route.

"We plan to increase volumes to over 12 million barrels per year. There is potential for growth, and Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan is capable of transporting even more – it's just a matter of tariffs. If the tariffs are promising and attractive, then we can always increase our potential," he noted.

He also noted the cooperation between Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan on the green cable project under the Caspian Sea: "We see great potential in this project, as Kazakhstan is actively developing renewable energy, and we have more and more projects coming up."

According to him, expanding the number of countries participating in the project is not currently under discussion: "Today, a detailed discussion is planned on the technical specifications of the project, marketing, transit volumes, and tariffs. Specific companies interested in implementing this project have already been identified. Progress is underway."

He also noted that discussions on the Southern Gas Corridor took place today.

"Kazakhstan has significant gas reserves and other resources that could be exported to other countries to diversify energy supplies. The potential for this is significant, and work in this direction is underway with brotherly Azerbaijan," he said.